"Marni!" I heard a voice shout.
I looked up ahead and saw Caroline standing with Bonnie and Elena next to the lockers.
I smiled and walked up to them.
"You're back!" Caroline said cheerfully, hugging me tightly. "Oh my God I missed you!"
"You to Care," I said.
She pulled back and Bonnie smiled at me.
"So you're the one who was messing with my dreams," I said, a small smirk on my face.
"Yeah," she said guiltily. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine," I said. "I understand."
She smiled and hugged me.
"You have missed so much since you've been gone," Caroline said.
"I have?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
""You have no idea," she said. "Mrs Lockwood has been completely freaking out. She didn't know whether or not you were going to be back in time for Founder's Day, so she's been running around trying to make arrangements for a fill in to stand on the float. And because you've been away, I've had to organise all of the school events with out you! And it's just not the same. "
"Wow, I really have missed a lot," I said with a hint of sarcasm.
"You got a haircut!" Caroline said. "I love it!"
"Thanks," I smiled.
"Hey Marni, have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked.
"I left before him, so he's probably on his way," I said. "Damon has a new pet, and she was making me uncomfortable."
"Yeah, Andy," Elena said. "She's a news reporter."
"I thought she looked familiar," I said, recalling seeing her on tv.
"What do you mean by pet?" Bonnie asked.
"Well, to put it out right, he's practically using her as a bloodbag," I said flatly.
"That's horrible," she said, a frown forming on her face.
"Well, it's not like he's treating her badly or anything," I said. "He's treating her as a normal girlfriend. But he bites her now and then." I ended the sentence with a frown on my face.
"Gross," Bonnie muttered.
"Oh look, it's Stefan," I said, happy to change the subject.
He smiled when he got to us.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
"A peice of gum that someone managed to stick on the roof," I answered with out looking.
"Ew," Elena said, looking up. "Hey, there's actually a peice of gum up there. How did you know that Marni? You didn't even look up."
"It's me. I just know these things," I said. In truth, the peice of gum had been there ever since I came to this school. I had noticed it when I was talking to Elena one time.
The bell rung at that moment, and I had History.
I was one of the first kids to enter the class, so I took my usual seat at the back.
More and more students filed in, and a few said hi to me.
The moment I had been waiting for came, and Jeremy walked in the room. He looked up and saw me, surprise flashing through his eyes. He quickly averted his gaze and sat across the room from me.
I had to resist the urge to shout out 'AWKWARD MOMENT!'... but considering it was my awkward moment, I decided not to.
Alaric entered the room, and saw me sitting there.
"Ah, it looks like we'll have full attendence today," he said. "Welcome back Marni."
I nodded at him.
"As you know, at the end of the week there is a 20's Decade Dance," Ric informed us. "So, as you might've guessed, this week we're learning about the 20's."
I smiled slightly. The 20's had been a good decade. All the fashion and the jazz.
"So what's this decade dance I hear about?" I asked when I sat down next to Caroline at a table for lunch. Stefan, Elena and Bonnie were also there.
"Oh right!" she said. "We're having a 20's Decade Dance. You have to dress up like you're from the 20's. It'll be loads of fun. Are you coming?"
"I might make an appearance," I said. "I liked the 20's anyway, so I'll probably dress up. The style back then was so much better than the 50's."
"I can't imagine you guys back in the 20's," Elena said.
"Well, I guess you'll see on Friday," I smirked.
On Thursday afternoon, I was walking towards the Grill.
It was dark, and the street was mostly deserted, save for the occasional car.
I was meant to meet Caroline there in half an hour, but I got bored and decided to head there early.
I heard a whooshing sound come from behind me, and I spun around.
"Seriously?" I muttered. "Can I not walk down the street and have some random vampire lurking around?"
I heard the sound again and turned back around.
"Enough with the whole scary vampire thing," I said loudly in a bored tone. "It get's old after a while. And I have somewhere to be, so, you know, show yourself."
Out of nowhere a hand grabbed me by the throat and slammed me up against the wall of the building next to me, hard.
Infront of me was a guy I didn't recognise.
"That hurt," I growled, shoving him off me. I didn't give him a chance to recover, I struck my fist out and hit him in the face as hard as I could.
A look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He obviously didn't expect me to be that strong.
The look was gone as soon as it appeared and he grinned. He launched forward and threw his own punch, hitting my jaw. I tasted blood in my mouth and swore under my breath. He slammed me up against the wall again, and this time my face hit it.
I growled and shot my foot back, connecting with his knee.
He stumbled back and I moved as a blur, ending up on the other side of him.
I snapped my hand out and he shot back, hitting the wall. He hit the ground but got back up instantly.
He flashed another grin at me and the turned into a blur, disappearing.
"Cocky little bastard," I muttered angrily.
I was pissed. Who the hell was that guy? I'd never seen him in my life.
I spat the blood out of my mouth. The stupid idiot split my lip, not to mention I probably have a bruise on my forehead.
I stalked into the Grill with what I imagined to be a murderous expression on my face. A few heads turned towards me, but I ignored them. I saw Elena and Stefan playing pool at a table, and Damon sitting up at the bar with his pet news reporter.
Stefan and Damon both looked at me at the same time. They both frowned and started making their way over to me, Elena following beind Stefan.
"What the hell happened to you?" Damon asked when he reached me.
Stefan and Elena joined us a second later.
"Some little bastard just attacked me, that's what," I practically hissed. I wanted to hit someone.
"What? Who?" Stefan asked.
"Are you alright?" Elena asked.
"No, I'm not alright," I said. "I'm pissed off. As for who, I don't know."
"What do you mean he attacked you?" Damon asked.
"I was walking down the street, minding my own business, and then out of no where, this guy shows up and slams me against a wall. We throw a few punches, I slam him against the wall, and then he just grins at me and disappears! Who does that?"
"Did he say what he wanted?" Stefan asked.
"Nope, he didn't say anything to me," I said. "He just attacked me and ran off. What a dick."
"Well, let's go find this guy and find out what he wants," Damon said.
"Not right now,' Stefan said.
"So what, we wait around for him to atttack again?" Damon asked incredulously. "Not going to happen little brother. I vote we go after him now."
"Why don't we lure him out?" Elena asked.
"Why don't we just go kill the bastard?" I asked bitterly.
"I like Marni's idea," Damon said.
"No, Elena's right," Stefan said. "We should lure him out, then find out what he wants."
"So I'm meant to roam the streets at night by myself and hold a sign saying 'Hey, it's me, that chick you attacked the other night, come and get me, I'm rather tasty around this time of year!'?" I asked.
"No," Stefan said. He paused. "Well yeah, but with out the sign."
"Hang on," Elena said. "How do we know he was targeting Marni personally? She's a fifteen year old girl walking alone down the street at night. That's like vampire heaven, isn't it?"
"Well, it is rather tempting," Damon said, smirking at me.
I rolled my eyes. He wouldn't try and eat me anyway.
"No," I said, turning to Elena. "This guy wasn't trying to eat me. It was like he was just messing with me, and no vampire would run away from a fight like that. It was obvious that he knew I wasn't human."
"And you have no idea who it was?" Damon asked.
"Not a clue," I said. "I would've remembered if I'd seen him somewhere."
"Look, let's just wait until he makes another appearance," Stefan said. "Then we'll strike and find out what he wants. Tell everyone to keep their guard up. This guy doesn't sound like he's going to turn friendly any time soon."
"Fine," I muttered. "But I get to kill him."
"I should call Liz, tell her we've got a new vampire in town," Damon said.
"I'm gunna go get myself cleaned up," I said. "I'll be back in a few."
I made my way to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I had blood on my lip, and a red mark on my forehead that was starting to bruise. I made a face and turned the tap on, leaning down and washing my face.
I looked up and almost screamed when I saw a figure behind me. I relaxed when I saw it was Shadow. Yep. And things just got awkward.
"What is with you vampires and doing that?" I asked. "It's all just like 'Hey, I'm a vampire, and I'm gunna come scare the crap out of you now, because I think it makes me look cool!' But no, scaring someone half to death is not cool, it makes people want to hack your eyebrows off with cauliflower. You know what I mean?"
His silver eyes widened a little bit and alarm flashed in them.
"Ah... I need to get out more," I said, realising that his alarm was caused by what I said.
He flashed one of his brilliant smiles that was gone as soon as it appeared.
"Yes you do," he said.
Everything went silent, and it was even more awkward than before.
"So..." I said. "It's a nice bathroom we're in, eh?"
His eyes narrowed a bit and he took a closer look at me.
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"I thought it'd be fun to throw myself at a brick wall," I said.
He raised an eyebrow.
I explained what actually happened.
"Oh," he said.
Things went quiet again.
"Look, I have to apologize," he started. "I shouldn't have kissed you. It was uncalled for, and you were in a vulnerable position. I was just-"
"Caught up in the moment?" I offered.
"Yes," he said. "I was. And then you ran away, I couldn't help but feel that it was my fault. I know we talked about how I wasn't interested in you that way anymore, but I couldn't control it. It just happened. And I'm sorry."
"I understand," I said. "I mean, it is extremely hard for men to not to want to kiss me. I am very attractive."
He laughed. "You're just like a girl version of Damon."
"Please," I said. "I'm far better looking than him."
He flashed a grin again.
"I am really sorry though," he said.
"It's fine," I said. "I was emotionally unstable back then, but I'm fine now."
I decided that it wasn't worth losing a close friend over.
"But, I've sworn off men forever," I said. "I find that I don't have as many problems when I'm single."
We both knew the double meaning behind that sentence.
Just because I'm single, doesn't mean I want to go out with you.
"Well, this is a girls bathroom, so I'm gunna leave, cause it'd be weird if another girl came in," he said.
I laughed. "Only a little bit."
"I'll see you around Marni," he said, flashing another grin before he left.
Nobody but the people helping to set up the dance went to school the next day.
I was sitting in the living room, reading a book. Lexi sat across from me, doing the same.
It was dark, but the dance didn't start for a few hours.
I heard footsteps enter the room and immediately knew it was Stefan.
"I'm going to head over to Elena's," Stefan said. "I'll see you at the dance."
"Yep," I said, not looking up. "Tell Elena I say hi."
"Will do,"
After a while I put my book down and groaned.
"I have to go get ready," I sighed.
"Well, I'm bored, so I'm going to go do something fun," Lexi said. "I'll be back whenever I get back."
She got up and followed Stefan out the door. I stood up and dragged myself upstairs to Damon's room.
"Hey Damon do- Oh my God."
I opened the door to find Damon and Andy, aka Damon's pet, kissing each other passionately.
Damon looked over at me.
"Hello Marni," he greeted pleasantly. "You do remember I have a door right?"
"No, actually, it slipped my mind," I said. "Well, at least you're wearing clothes."
They had, thankfully, just been kissing, whilst standing up. Andy looked like she was a tad annoyed that I had interupted them.
"Well, this is awkward, so I'll leave," I said.
Damon was about to say something, but his phone started ringing.
"What do you want little brother?" he asked into the phone, clearly annoyed.
His eyes narrowed.
"What?" he asked sharply. "No. Okay. We'll be there in two minutes. Keep them safe."
He hung up the phone and turned to Andy.
"Stay at your place tonight," he said, compelling her. "Don't ask questions, just go."
She nodded and left the room.
"What's going on?" I asked, frowning.
"Our new mystery vamp attacked Jeremy then went after Elena," he said. "Stefan got there and scared him off though."
"Are they okay?" I asked, alarm in my voice.
"They're fine," Damon said. "But we gotta get over there."
I nodded, then realised something. "What? We? No, I'm not going over there."
"Marni, come on," Damon said.
"No. It'll be awkward and weird," I said. "I'd really rather not go over there."
"Well, you don't get a say in the matter," he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me out the door.
"You're a dick," I said, glaring at him.
"You love me," he replied.
"Stupid ass-hat," I muttered.
"Did you just call me an ass-hat?" he asked, clearly amused.
"What of it?" I asked.
He laughed and shook his head.
I stood leaning up against the wall of the Gilbert living room. Elena and Stefan sat on the couch and Jeremy was in an arm chair, while Damon paced back and forth.
"How did he get in?" Damon asked.
"He posed as a pizza delivery guy," Elena answered.
"Well, he get's points for that," I said, looking at the ground.
"If this guy was after Marni, why'd he go after you two?" Damon asked.
"Maybe he knows she's the doppleganger," Stefan said.
"Then why did he go after me first?" Jeremy asked.
"He was probably hungry," Damon replied.
"He might've come after me because I look like Katherine," Elena said.
While they were talking, peices started clicking together in my mind.
"Marni, what do you think?" Stefan asked.
I sighed and looked up.
"My guess is, someone found out that the moonstone and Elena was here," I replied. "They came after me, because they figured out I had the moonstone, and they went after Elena because she's the doppleganger. And like Damon said, he probably attacked Jeremy because he was hungry. Either that or he went after him to get to me or Elena."
I didn't speak to Jeremy directly, instead I spoke to Stefan.
I avoided Jeremy's gaze and focused my eyes on a photograph on the wall. It was of Elena and Jeremy when they were younger. They were at a park, and had huge grins on their faces.
"Well what do we do?" Elena asked.
"We go to the dance tonight," Damon said. "This guy's bound to show himself. We wait and see who he attacks first and then we strike."
"Why don't I go off by myself?" Jeremy asked. "He'd follow me. I could lure him out to a deserted place."
"No," I said immediately. I looked up and stared into his dark eyes. "It's too dangerous."
"But it would work," he argued.
"Yeah, until he decides to kill you," I said. I snapped my fingers. "That's how long it takes for you to get your neck snapped."
"But you guys would get there before that would happen," he said.
"But there's always a chance that we won't get there in time," I said, getting frustrated. Why couldn't he just stop trying to put himself in danger and make me worry about him? "And that's a chance I'm not willing to take."
"Marni's right," Elena added. "There's no way I'm letting you put yourself in danger. If anyone's doing the luring, it should be me. I'm the doppleganger, right?"
I sighed. "Neither of you are luring him out. No offence or anything, but you guys are human. We can put up a much better fight than you two." I gestured to me, Damon and Stefan.
"Like I said before," Damon began. "We wait for him to make the first move." He looked at Elena. "You and Jeremy make sure with one of us at all times."
"I'll keep Elena by my side," Stefan said. "Marni, you stay with Jeremy."
My eyes snapped to Stefan. My instinct was to protest right away, but it would be rude, so I tried to say the words with my eyes.
"I know that it's not the most ideal arrangement considering recent events, but it's neccessary," Stefan said, giving me a pointed look.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I could tell I had eyes on me.
"Fine," I said reluctantly. Tonight was going to be so awkward.
I pushed myself off from the wall and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Damon asked.
"To eat the cat next door," I replied sarcastically. "I'm going to get ready. You can't expect me to show up at a 20's dance looking like this, can you?"
"Here, I'll drive you," he said.
"So..." Damon said, leaning against the wall. "Tonight's going to be a bit awkward, eh?
"Ugh, you have no idea," I muttered.
I was digging through a pile of boxes in a cupboard, in one of the many bedrooms the boarding house had. They were boxes of old clothes, from when I'd visited in the past.
"Aha!" I said. "I found it."
I picked up an old box and set it on the ground. I opened it and pulled out the familiar clothes I hadn't seen in decades. The clothes were still in good condition, which I was thankful for. I pulled out the paricular dress I was looking for. It was off-white, and came down to just above my knee. Back in the day, it was known as a 'Flapper dress'.
"I remember that dress," Damon said. "That's the one you wore when I found you in London that time."
"You remember that?" I asked, turning my head towards him. Damon had gone off on his own for a few months and I had been in London when I ran into him.
"Yeah," he said. "You were half drunk at the time. Kept saying something about how you were inlove with me and you wanted us to get married."
"That last part's a lie," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Admit it," he said. "You had the biggest crush on me back then."
I snorted. "Hardly. When I first met you, I had a tiny crush on you, but that was it."
"You just keep telling yourdelf that," he said.
"Not every girl is inlove with you Damon," I said.
"Of course they are," he said, as if what I'd just said was an insult. "Any girl who isn't is completely insane."
"Well, it's a good thing I have no sanity then," I said.
He muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said, smirking.
I glared.
Twenty minutes later I was back at the Gilbert house. Damon had dressed into a suit from back then, so he looked like a gangster from the 20's. Jenna had let us in, and we walked up to Elena's room.
I nodded my greetings when I entered the room. Stefan was dressed similarly to Damon, and Elena wore a dress a little bit like mine, but a deep crimson. She had her hair curled loosely, and had a white feather hairpeice in it.
"Wow, you look great," I said, flashing a smile.
She grinned. "Thanks, you look amazing."
"Well, I guess I look alright," I said, shrugging.
I had curled my hair so that it had come above my shoulders. I'd put a white head band with silver sparkles in it as well. My face was white, with a bit of blush, and my lips were a dark red. My eyes were rimmed with black, and I had applied a fair bit of mascara to my eyes.
"Where did you get that dress? It's amazing," Elena replied.
"That's the thing about living for over a century," I said. "You tend to collect stuff from way back in the day."
"That dress is from the 20's?" Elena asked, her jaw dropping slightly and surprise showing in her dark brown eyes..
I smirked and nodded, slightly amused by her shock.
"What was the 20's like?" she asked, curious.
"Eh, it wasn't too great," Damon said, shrugging. He flashed an amazing grin. "Although it did have it's up sides. If I remember correctly, that was when Stefan's diet was slightly less... furry."
Damon's ice blue eyes shone with dark humor, clearly taking pleasure in angering Stefan.
I shot a look at Damon. He shrugged innoccently.
Stefan glared at him with hate, his face paler than usual.
It was at that moment, that Jeremy decided to walk in. He paused when he noticed the tension between the brothers.
"Uh..." was all he said. I glanced over at Elena, who looked uncomfortable.
Jeremy was dressed in a suit with a vest, but left out the jacket, rolling his sleeves up. His dark brown hair was in it's normal messiness, and I knew at once that he had refused to slick his hair back, as men often did back then. Damon had left his hair normal too.
"Well, as fun as this has been," I said, cutting the silence. "I think we should get going now. The dance has probably started by now, and if I don't show up, Caroline will probably skin me alive. And we also have a vampire to kill. So, come on people, let's go."
Damon and Stefan's eyes were locked, as if they were throwing abuse at eachother with their eyes.
I sighed. "Alright, we're taking seperate cars. I'll go with Damon, and Elena and Jeremy can go with Stefan," I said, speaking to no one inparticular. "Everyone okay with that? Good." I added, not waiting for an answer.
I grabbed Damon's arm and and pulled him to the door.
"I have a sense of direction, you know," he said, giving me an annoyed look and shrugging his arm out of my grasp.
"Oh I'm sorry, I guess I didn't realise," I retorted. "I thought you were too focused on glaring at Stefan."
He rolled his eyes.
When we reached the school, there were people crowded outside, meeting up with friends. Everybody looked like they had stepped out of the 20's. There was a big banner hanging above the entrance, and there were fairy lights wrapped around tree's and poles. Most of the guys were dressed as gansters, and the girls were wearing pretty dresses, and had some sort of hair peice in.
When I got out of the car, laughter and music filled my ears. I couldn't help but smile, the atmosphere bringing back memories.
But you're not here to think about the past, a voice in my mind said. You're here to find out who that vampire is, and to kill him.
Thanks for ruining my mood, I thought with annoyance.
"Okay guys," A voice from beside me said.
I turned and realised I hadn't noticed the others arrive.
It was Stefan who had spoke.
"Keep an eye out," he continued. "If any of you see this guy, let us know immediately."
"And no going all hero on us," I said, giving Elena and Jeremy pointed looks. "If I find out that either one of you have gone off to find him by yourself, let's just say it won't be pretty."
"Not to mention you'll probably end up as a snack," Damon added, smirking.
"Yeah, that too."
Stefan moved to Elena and wrapped his arm around her.
"I'll be by Elena's side the whole time," he said. He turned his dark green eyes on Jeremy. "Jeremy, make sure you stick by Marni's side at all times. This guy is dangerous."
Jeremy nodded and looked at me, but instead I focused my gaze on Damon.
"What do you plan to do?" I asked.
"You know, look out for this guy, spike the drinks they're serving with alcohol," he replied.
"Damon," Stefan said in a disapproving tone.
"Stefan," he mocked. "Relax, I'm kidding. I'll probably go talk to my buddy Ric."
"I find it scary how you guys are friends," I said.
"Well Marni," Damon said. "That is because you don't have friends."
"Then why do you like me so much?" I asked.
"Well, someone has to," he smirked.
"Jerk," I muttered. He smirked.
"Guys, enough," Stefan said. "Just remember. Stick together, and keep an eye out." He turned to Elena. "Shall we?"
"We shall," she smiled, and looped her arms in Stefan's, walking with him inside.
Damon nodded to me and went off in his own direction. I looked around me, almost hoping that the vampire was already here. I was out of luck though.
"Alright, let's get this over with," I muttered, not making eye contact with Jeremy.
I walked to the entrance, Jeremy falling into step beside me. He didn't say anything, but I saw him glancing at me out of the corner of my eye.
The inside was filled with balloons and streamers. There was a stage set up, and a girl was up there singing an old song to jazz style music. There were coloured lights flashing, and even though they weren't invented back then, there was a disco ball.
I caught people looking at us, murmuring to the people next to them.
"Didn't they break up?"
"I heard they hated eachother."
"I got told told she found out she was pregnant, and he dumped her because he couldn't handle it."
I laughed when I heard the last one. That was so far from the truth it wasn't funny... well, actually... it was a bit.
Jeremy raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head and sighed.
"Marni!"
I spun around and found Bonnie and Caroline hurrying up to us.
"Hey!" Caroline said cheerfully, her blonde hair bouncing around her. "I'm so glad you made it!"
"Yeah, well, I didn't really have a choice in the end," I said.
"Hey Jer," Bonnie said. She seemed a little confused. I didn't blame her.
"Oh, are you guys back together?" Caroline asked.
"Uh... no..." Jeremy said, scratching his head uncomfortably.
"Oh, sorry, it's just..." Caroline began. "I didn't expect you to be here together, so I assumed."
I shrugged. "Don't worry... it's a long story."
I looked at the ground awkwardly. I knew people would start assuming things, but I guess we didn't really come up with a cover story.
I spotted Elena and Stefan dancing in the crowd, having the time of their lives. I sighed, wishing that things weren't so awkward.
Caroline and Bonnie wandered off a few minutes later, leaving Jeremy and I by ourselves.
"So..." Jeremy trailed on.
I didn't respond. I scanned the crowd, looking for the guy.
"See if you can find Steve," I said.
"Who's Steve?" Jeremy asked.
"I got bored of calling him random vampire who attacked me, so I named him Steve," I explained. "I thought it suited him."
How unfortunate would it be if you were an evil vampire, someone like Klaus for example, and your name was Steve? It just wouldn't work. If some evil vampire told me his name was Steve, I'd laugh at him.
"Ah, I see."
A song I recognised started playing, and I began to hum to it.
Jeremy murmured something about getting a drink, and I nodded subconciously, still scanning the crowd. About two minutes later, I realised that I shouldn't have let Jeremy go off by himself.
I whipped my head around, looking for him. He wasn't anywhere near the drink stand, and I started to panic. Then I caught a glimpse of him going through a door. My heart sunk when I saw 'Steve' follow him out.
Cursing under my breath, I hurried through the crowd. When I reached the deserted hallway, I broke into a sprint. I heard someone yell out, and I followed the sound. The noise led me to the cafeteria. The vampire had Jeremy pinned up against the wall, about two inches away for tearing out his throat.
I flicked my arm to the side and he was flung off Jeremy, hitting the wall. He was up in an instant, facing me. He flashed me that same grin.
"You just can't stay away can you?" he asked in a smooth voice.
"Well, considering you were about to kill my friend..." I trailed off.
He moved as a blur, and had grabbed me before I could register what was going on. He threw me across the room and I hit a table and tumbled, landing on my back.
"That's gunna leave a bruise," I said, pulling myself to my feet. I noticed that my dress had ripped a little up the side. "Dude, you ripped my dress. Dick move."
I lunged at him and we fell to the ground. He ended up having the upper hand, and he pinned me to the ground. He beared his fangs, but before I could do anything, he was ripped off me.
I sat up to see Damon and Stefan.
"Ah," I said, standing up. "Glad you could join us."
"Hey dick," Damon said to the guy. "Nobody wants to fight, we just wanna talk."
The guy looked at him for a second, then ran at Jeremy.
I was infront of Jeremy before he could reach him, and I sent the guy flying back.
"Did anyone bring a stake?" I asked. Stefan and Damon shook their heads. "Well isn't that dandy," I muttered. I kept the guy pinned to the wall, making it impossible for him to get away.
I spotted a broom leaning against the wall and I smiled. I picked it up and snapped it, causing it to make a very sharp point of wood. I walked up to the vampire casually stabbed the end of the broom into him. He groaned in pain and went to pull it out, but he couldn't.
"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" I asked, grinning.
Damon and Stefan joined me, and I looked back at Jeremy, making sure he was okay. He wasn't injured, he just had a look of shock on his face.
I heard doors open and saw Elena rush into the room.
"Are you okay?" she asked Jeremy.
He nodded.
I turned my attention back to the guy. Damon had pulled the stick out.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," he said. "Who are you?"
"Screw you," the guy said.
"Hard way it is then," Damon said, shoving the stick into his stomach.
"Okay, I have a question I really need answered," I said, looking at the guy. "Is your name Steve by any chance?"
"No," he said, sounding amused and in pain at the same time. "Alex."
"Damn," I muttered in a disappointed tone.
"Why are you here?" Stefan asked.
Alex didn't answer. Damon twisted the stick, causing him more pain.
"To break the curse," he gasped out. "The sun and the moon curse."
"Told you," I said. I focused my attention on Alex. "Why'd you go after Jeremy?"
"To get to you," he said. "And the doppleganger."
"Well what do you know?" I asked, looking back at Jeremy. "I guess you weren't just a snack after all."
"Does anyone else know you're here?" Damon asked Alex.
"No," he said. "It's just me."
"Have you told anyone where the doppleganger is?" I asked.
"No," he said. "I'm working alone."
I looked at Damon. He nodded. I sighed and pulled the stake out, only to shove it back through his heart. I saw the life drain out of his eyes, and his skin went all grey and veiny.
"What? Why'd you kill him?" Elena asked. "He might've known something."
"He didn't," I said. "And he'd been invited in. It wouldn't have been safe for anyone who lives in your house if he had've stayed alive."
"Look, the important thing is that nobody got hurt," Stefan said.
I snorted. "Speak for yourself. You didn't get thrown into a table. I'm not a vampire you know, I bruise easily." I lifted my arm up to reveal an ugly bruise forming near my shoulder. I was in a bit of pain, but it was nothing compared to some of the other things I'd been through. "And I think I have internal bleeding," I added.
"Let me rephrase," Stefan said. "At least no one got killed."
"Except him," Damon said, looking at the dead body on the floor. "Poor bastard."
"Eh, he was a dick," I said, shrugging my soulders, wincing a bit at the pain. "And he tore my dress. He deserved it."
I almost felt sorry for him. He died for the cause of something that wasn't even real. But he brought it on himself, and we had to do what was neccessary.
"Shouldn't you guys like, move the body, or something?" Jeremy asked, speaking for the first time.
"Nah," Damon said. "I'm sure someone will come along and find it."
"Maybe they can use it as a new mascot," I suggested. "This town is crawling with vampires. Why not have one represent the school?"
Stefan rolled his eyes and looked to Damon. "I'm assuming you'll take care of this?"
"I suppose," he sighed. "We wouldn't want the towns people finding out about this, would we?" Damon turned to me. "You gunna help?"
"Nah," I said. "I'm not in the mood."
"Oh come on, you're the one who killed him," he said.
I shrugged. "Why don't you get your little pet to help you? I'm sure she'd be more than willing."
Damon glared at me. I smirked at him and turned on my heel, nodding goodbye to the others and walked out the doors and down the hall.
I wasn't exactly mad at Damon for using Andy like he does, because it had happened before. But Andy annoyed the hell out of me. She was constantly around, clinging to Damon's side. It wasn't like she was rude to me, she was polite. But she was one of those people, whose politeness annoyed me.
"Marni! Wait up!"
I didn't have to turn to know it was Jeremy, so I just stopped walking.
""Hey," I said when he caught up to me.
"Hey, are you okay? You took a pretty tough beating back there," he said.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. "I have a fair few bruises, but I can handle it."
"I just want to thank you," he said. "If you hadn't have shown up when you did, I'd probably be dead."
"Yeah, well, I am great with timing," I said, flashing a smirk. "And I wasn't going to let you die, even after everything that happened, I still care about you."
He smiled. "Look, I've been wanting to talk to you..."
"No, it wasn't me that put all of that Justin Bieber music on your computer," I said immediately, although it had been. I did it a few weeks before we had broken up. Although things were still awkward between us, I decided that I wasn't going to act awkward.
"I was wondering who did that," he said, a knowing look in his eye. "Anyway, I know things haven't been the best between us. And I'm still sorry about that night, but I- that doesn't change my feelings."
I nodded. "I understand."
I couldn't force him to have feelings for me, and I had come to accept that.
"But I don't like that we don't talk anymore," he continued. "I've missed you, a lot. And I know you probably want nothing to do with me, but I was really hoping we could go back to being friends."
I couldn't help it. A smile broke out on my face.
"Oh I don't know," I said, pretending to think about it. "It'll cost you."
"Anything," he said.
"You have to walk through the Grill wearing nothing but your underwear, singing Justin Bieber songs," I said.
"Anything but that," Jeremy said.
"It was worth a try," I said. "I guess I'll have to think of something else later then."
He looked at me, raising his eyebrow. "So, is that a yes?"
I nodded.
He grinned and pulled me into a hug. Some of my bruises started aching, but at that moment I didn't care. Not having Jeremy in my life was like not having an earlobe. It wasn't pleasant.
And just like that, Jeremy and I were bestfriends again. And this time I hoped it would stay that way.