"Merry Labor Day," I said with a grin when Jeremy opened the door. Damon raised an eyebrow at me before nodding to Jeremy and walking inside.
"The fact that you're not in a mental hospital shocks me," Jeremy said.
"Oh I was, but they put this weird jacket thingy on me when it wasn't cold, so I took it off and ran away," I said.
Jeremy laughed.
"I'm not kidding," I said seriously.
"And that's what worries me," he sighed.
I grinned again and walked inside. Stefan, Elena and Caroline were sitting in the living room and I could see Damon, Alaric and Jenna in the kitchen. Bonnie couldn't make it because she was having a family dinner of her own, and Caroline's mom was working so Elena invited her.
"Morning guys," I said, although it was clearly night time.
"Hey," they all said simultaneously.
"I brang presents!" I said, lifting up the bag I was carrying.
"Yay!" Caroline cheered. "Present time!"
"Okay, first I'll do Stefan's, because he's been waiting all day," I said. I looked at Stefan and Elena. "Your presents are joined, because I couldn't think of anything else."
I held out an envelope and Elena took it from my hand. She ripped it open and looked inside. Her eyes widened as she realised what it was.
"What is it?" Caroline asked.
"These are tickets... to Paris," Elena said slowly.
"I have a villa there, it's really pretty," I said. "I figured you and Stefan could get away for a few days."
Elena laughed in disbelief and looked up at me. "You're kidding,"
"Yes," I said sarcastically. "I just got bought you tickets to Paris so I could say you were going, but I'm not actually going to let you use them."
"I don't know what to say," she said.
"Thank you would be fine," I shrugged.
"Thank you," she said, before hugging me so hard I couldn't breathe.
"Alright," I gasped. "You can let go now."
She laughed and let me go.
"Excuse me while I go rearrange my internal organs," I muttered. I looked up at Stefan and grinned. "So? Did I do good?"
"Yes, thank you," he said, hugging me. Even though he was the vampire and Elena was the human, Stefan's hug was a lot softer.
"Yep, I'm amazing, I know," I said.
"I feel bad, because my present isn't as good as yours," Elena said.
"Think of it this way," I said. "My present is only half as good as you think it is because it's split between you and Stefan. Did that make sense?"
"Nope," Jeremy said.
"Yep," Elena said. "Well, here."
She held out a rectangular shape to me and I ripped the wrapping off. I grinned when I saw it was all three of the Hush Hush series. I'd heard they were good books.
"Trust me, I'd rather this over a trip to Paris," I said.
"Seriously?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah," I said. "I've been to Paris loads of times. I'd rather read a new book then go there again."
"I'm glad you like it," Elena said.
"Ooh!" Caroline squeeled. "Me next!"
The gift she had gotten me was a Skrillex CD and the Hangover on DVD. I grinned it was one of my favorite movies, and Skrillex was awesome.
Caroline had been sulking for a few weeks because she really wanted these pair of heels, but someone had bought the last pair in her size before her. That someone was me.
"No way!" she exclaimed. "That was you?"
I grinned.
"Thank you!"
I was smothered by a hug that was tighter than Elena's, because Caroline was actually using her vampire strength.
"Can't... Breathe!" I gasped.
She laughed and let go.
It turns out Jeremy and I got each other the same gift, Assassins Creed: Revelations.
"Nice," we said simultaneously, giving each other a high five.
And then there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Elena said with a smile, getting up off the couch.
It was Matt and Vicki. Their mom was in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend Pete, so Elena had invited them over. I didn't miss the dirty look Vicki shot me when she thought I wasn't looking. Andy showed up not long after. Apparently Jenna had invited her. I hadn't seen Andy in at least two weeks. Damon had held up his end of the deal, so I didn't see her that often. Which was fine with me.
Ever since I saved her life, Andy had been a lot more polite and less annoying whenever I was around. Which was great.
She waved at us and said hi when she walked through to the kitchen. I gave a small nod and resumed looking at the wall. And then I became aware that Elena, Caroline, Jeremy and Stefan were staring at me, as if waiting for me to have a reaction about Andy being here.
"What?" I asked innocently.
"Wait for it," Jeremy said under his breath.
"Not gunna happen," I said. "I don't have a problem with her."
"Are you sure?" Caroline asked.
I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, I'm sure."
She looked like she was going to say something else, but she was cut off by Jenna.
"Guys! Dinner's ready!"
Jenna's cooking was delicious. There was talking and laughter, and everyone was having a great time.
Except me. I was pretty much a loner. Stefan had Elena, Caroline had Matt, Alaric had Jenna, Jeremy had Vicki, and Damon had Andy. Who did I have? The peice of potato on my plate I'd been pushing around with my fork for the last ten minutes.
It was like I didn't exsist as far as everybody here was concerned. I had to resist singing the song Lonely to myself. I didn't bother trying to make conversation. So I sat there, in between Damon and Stefan, staring at my plate.
It was about half an hour later, when I got the sudden urge to bash my head against a wall. We had all moved to the living room. Caroline and Matt shared the couch with Elena and Stefan, Damon and Andy were sitting together on one of the over sized arm chairs, whilst talking to Alaric and Jenna, who were siiting on the two-seat couch next to them, and Jeremy and Vicki were sitting together on the ground, flirting.
I myself was sitting cross-legged on the other arm chair, trying very hard to block out the sounds of everyone, especially the two on the floor. I hated my emotions right now. I rested my chin on my propped up hands and stared at the floor, attempting to focus on the patterns in the carpet.
I was pulled from my intense carpet watching when someone said my name.
"Marni, are you okay? You look a little out of it."
I snapped my head up. It was Alaric.
"Huh? Yeah..." I said, before standing up. "Actually, I think I might get going."
"You can't leave now, we're just about to have dessert!" Jenna protested.
"I'm still full from dinner," I lied. "And besides, I'm really tired. I didn't sleep at all last night."
That last part was also a lie. I wasn't tired at all, I just didn't want to sit here whilst everyone else was happy. I wanted to go home and have my own pitty party with whatever junk food was in the house. Ugh, I was like an over emotional teenager.
"Are you sure?" Elena asked. "We're having sticky date pudding."
"I'm sure," I said.
Damon, however, didn't buy it.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, looking at me suspiciously.
"Yep," I said. "Thanks for having me Jenna, dinner was great."
"Do you want me to give you a ride home?" Damon asked. I knew his ulterior motive was to find out what was bothering me.
"No, it's fine, I'll walk," I said.
With one last nod to everyone, I turned and left the house. The cold blast of air that hit me when I walked out into the night was refreshing.
There was no one home when I got there, which I didn't mind. I put my new Skrillex CD in my stereo and curled up on my bed, starting my new book. The first thing I noticed about this book, was that the main guy, Patch, reminded me a hell of a lot like Shadow. Tall, dark, good looking, bit of a smart ass, giant ego, knows way too much than he should... Yep, just like Shadow.
I read for what felt like hours, until I slowly drifted off to sleep.
The New Years party was going great. People were laughing, talking, dancing, drinking, and I was finding it immensly amusing. Damon and Alaric were the 'chaperone's'. I laughed when they told me that. The three of us, along with Elijah, who had showed up, were sitting in the parlor, sharing a bottle of Damon's scotch. The thing I found the funniest though, was that Elijah was drunk. Never in my life did I think I'd get to see him drunk. He hid it well though, and if I hadn't have watched him drink all of that alcohol, I wouldn't have noticed.
"I don't see why teenagers go to parties," Elijah said.
"Because they're fun," I said.
"Fun's not the word I'd use for it," he said. "Amusing yes, fun no."
"Elijah, you're drunk," I giggled. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"I know exactly what I'm talking about," he said.
"I should be taking pictures," I said.
"Why?" Damon asked.
"Because it's the last day of the year," I said. "We need to make memories."
It was at that point when I saw Anna walk past.
"Anna!" I called.
She turned and smiled.
"Hey," she said.
"I need to ask you of a huge favor," I said.
"Sure, what's up?" she asked.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. "I need you to take a picture of us!"
"Okay," she said with a grin.
I flung my arms around Elijah and Damon, who I was wedged between on the couch and smiled for the camera. I thanked Anna after she gave my phone back and she wandered off. I pulled up the photo that she'd taken and grinned. Alaric had a smile on his face, and Damon was flashing a brilliant grin. Elijah had the ghost of a smile on his face, but still managed to look more superior than all of us.
"Well, I'm off," I said, standing up. "I must go take photos."
I wandered through the people until I spotted a familiar face.
"Shadow!" I said with a happy grin.
"I see you didn't hesitate with the alcohol," he said with a smirk.
"I couldn't help it," I said. "It was calling to me."
He laughed.
"Anyway," I said. "Back to what I really came here for."
"Aw, do you didn't come here to talk to me?" he said, faking a hurt tone. "I'm cut."
"No, I came here to get a photo with you, silly," I said.
"Oh, I understand," he said. "I am pretty good looking."
I couldn't help but laugh. "You're as bad as Damon."
"Just telling the truth," he shrugged.
The picture of us I took was a good one. He had a brilliant smile, that I only saw rarely, and I had my head tilted to the side, doing my best maniac smile.
I went around for a while like that, finding my friends and getting pictures with them. After an hour, I had at least over a hundred pictures.
"No!" I cried when I saw I only had 3% battery left. I quickly dodged through people and ran upstairs into my room, where I connected my phone to it's charger.
I flipped through the photo's I'd taken and laughed. There was one where I was licking Damon's face and his eye was twitching. Shadow had taken one of me sniffing some girl's hair, and there was one me and Jeremy making stupid faces.
"I was wondering where you got to," a voice said.
I looked up at Damon's sudden appearance.
"Battery almost died," I said. "I still have more photo's to take, and I can't do that with a dead battery."
Damon scoffed. "You already taken like a million photo's, why would you need more?"
I shrugged. "What are you doing up here anyway?"
"Looking for you," he said. "Have you seen that bottle of scotch Stefan got me?"
"Nope," I said. "But that's not what you're really up here for."
"No?" he asked. "And what makes you think that?"
"I can tell when you're lying," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "So enlighten me Damon, why did you really come up here?"
He sighed. "I... have a confession."
"You're secretly gay?" I asked immediately.
"No," he said flatly.
"Damn..."
"Marni, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "For a while now."
He hesitated. I frowned slightly. What was he getting at?
"I...," he began. "I'm in love with you."
I froze, my eyes widening. What did he just say?
And then I saw it. If I hadn't have been paying close atention, I would've missed it. The side of his mouth twitched the tiniest bit, and then I knew.
"You are such a dick!" I said with a laugh, punching his arm. He grinned and shrugged.
"You should've seen the hope on your face," he said.
"I think that was horror," I said.
The sound of people counting down came from downstairs.
'Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!'
"Well, seeing how you're in love with me, I suppose you owe me a new year's kiss," I joked with a smirk.
"I suppose I do," he said.
'One! HAPPY NEW YEARS!'
"Happy new year's Marni," Damon murmured before leaning down and kissing me.My body responded automatically and I moved my lips against his.
And then I heard a scream. I pulled back and snapped my head to the side.
"What was that?" Damon asked.
I frowned and Damon headed out of the room and in the direction of the scream, me right behind him. We rounded a corner and Damon came to an abrupt holt, causing me to face plant his back. I walked around him and scowled, but his eyes were on the ground infront of me.
Tyler was kneeling infront of a girl, who's name was Sarah, I think. Sarah was laying motionless at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to a study, her eyes staring blankly up at the roof. I froze.
"Sarah, Sarah please wake up," Tyler whispered desperately, shaking Sarah. I already knew she was dead.
"What happened?" Damon asked, his eyes alert.
"We- We were at the top of the stairs," Tyler said. "She stole my phone as a joke, and- and when I reached for it I accidently knocked her, and she fell."
Crap. This was bad.
"Oh no," I whispered, when I realised something. Tyler had killed someone. And even if it had been accidental, it still happened. Tyler triggered the werewolf curse.
I heard footsteps and spun around, relaxing when I saw it was Elijah. He raised an eyebrow, and then he saw Sarah. And that's when I saw something I'd never dreamed about. Elijah screamed. And not a manly scream either, this was a high pitched girlish scream.
I raised an eyebrow and Damon looked at him like he had gone mental. Elijah cleared his throat and walked away. I looked back to Tyler and crouched by him.
"Tyler," I said softly. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."
I stood up and looked at Damon.
"Get him out of here," he murmured in my ear, motioning to Tyler. "I'll get rid of the body."
I nodded. I pulled Tyler up gently. He stared down at Sarah.
"Come on Tyler," I said. "I'll take you home. Everything's going to be fine."
I tugged on his arm and led him through the house. I borrowed Damon's car and drove Tyler home.
"Tyler?" I said softly.
"Marni, I triggered it," he whispered.
"I know," I said. "But don't worry, I'm going to help you through this."
I turned to give him a reassuring look, but I gasped softly when I saw his eyes. They were glowing yellow. After a second it went away.
"I killed Sarah," he said.
"It was an accident," I said.
"If it was an accident, this wouldn't be happening to me."
"Hey, everything's going to be okay," I said.
"No it's not," he said. "Marni, I'm scared."
"Don't worry," I repeated.
I returned to the house half an hour later, having convinced Tyler that eveything was okay, and that the full moon wasn't for another month, so we'd worry about it later. Since finding Sarah, I'd pretty much sobered up. Which was a bad thing, because I wanted to get my mind off things.
The first person I ran into was Shadow.
"What's going on?" he asked. "I saw you leave before."
"It's a long story," I said. I spied something in his hand. "Is that vodka?"
"Sure is."
"Good," I said, grabbing the bottle out of his hand and skulling the remaining half.
"Whoa, slow down there," he laughed.
I relaxed when the familiar buzz settled through me.
"Let's do something fun," I said.
"Alright, what do you want to do?" Shadow asked, obviously amused at my lack of soberness.
"Let's go suck the helium out of the balloons," I said.
"Sounds like a plan," he laughed. He held his arm out. "Shall we?"
"We shall," I said, linking my arm through his.
I was determined to not think about the new crisis that had revealed itself. Now, I just wanted to have fun.