I woke up to find myself being pushed off a couch.
"OW!" I groaned. I pryed my eyes open and squinted at the bright light. Looking up, I saw Shadow grinning down at me. His hair was messy, and you could tell he had a hangover, but he still managed to look good.
"What was that for?" I asked, but it came out more like a moan.
"You were sleeping on me, I thought it'd be funny to push you off me," he said.
"I was sleeping on you?" I asked.
"Yep," he said. "I knew you were attracted to me, but really? Using my chest for a pillow? Could you get less subtle about it?"
"Shut up," I said.
He laughed and held his hand out, offering to help me up. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up. I stumbled and he held my arm, making sure I didn't fall over.
The world span and I waited for it to stop.
"Whoa," I said, blinking repeatively. "How much did I drink last night?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked.
"Uh... no," I said.
I stretched, yawned and groaned at the same time, making me look and sound like a dying moose.
"Please tell me that's not your mating call," Shadow said.
"Of course not, my mating call sounds like this," I said. I made the same noise a goat would.
"And now I'm questioning why I'm friends with you," Shadow said, shaking his head doubtfully.
"Yeah, a lot of people do that," I said. I frowned at my arm. "Is that a bruise?"
"It appears to be," he said. "Let's check."
He poked my arm.
"Ow!" I complained and glared at him. He shrugged.
"Yep, it's a bruise," he said.
I muttered violent death threats under my breath whilst walking to the kitchen. Shadow laughed and followed me. There were already people sitting around the table when I entered. Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie looked up when we walked in.
"Wow, you look terrible," Stefan said.
I made a face and dropped down into the chair next to him, Shadow taking the seat next to me. I groaned again and rested my head on my hands.
"I feel worse," I muttered. "If I ever drink again Stefan, bite me."
"I'll do the honors," Shadow said. I looked at him and he smirked back at me.
"If your fangs go anywhere near me, I'll hit you in the face with a donkey," I said. I looked at the others and noticed that they looked perfectly fine. "Why is it that I'm the only one who seems to feel and look like death?"
"Because you drunk more alcohol than all of us put together," Caroline said.
"Yeah," Bonnie said. "I'm surprised you don't have alcohol poisoning."
"Here," Elena said, pushing a mug towards me. "Have some coffee."
I shuddered and pushed it away. It made me want to vomit.
"Morning guys," Damon's voice came from the doorway.
I grunted in response.
"Damon, how can you drink this early in the morning?" Elena asked.
I looked up and saw the glass of scotch in his hand. My stomach made a weird noise, and I knew I was going to puke.
"Oh this isn't going to taste good," I groaned before I shot out of my chair and ran to the downstairs bathroom.
I hurled my guts out into the toilet and moaned. This was probably the worst hangover I'd ever had. Besides that time in Ireland. That was nasty.
"Gross," I muttered, wiping my mouth. I frowned at the toilet. My vomit was a mix of blue and purple. "What the hell?"
I rinsed my mouth out and walked back out to the kitchen.
"Somebody had a rough night," Damon smirked.
"Get that stuff away from me," I said, pointing to the glass in his hand, but not looking at it.
"What, this?" he asked, holding it out to me. I gagged and looked away.
It was at that point that Elijah walked in. I saw him and remembered what happened last night. A huge grin spread on my face and I looked at him. He glared at me.
"Not a word to anyone," he said threateningly.
I raised my hands in an act of innocence, but kept the grin in place. Judging by Damon's confused expression, he didn't remember what Elijah did last night.
"What's funny?" Caroline asked.
"Nothing," I said, still looking at Elijah, who rolled his eyes and walked out of the room. "Nothing at all."
I sighed, remembering what happened to cause Elijah to scream.
"Guys we have a problem," I said, my voice turning serious.
"No," Elena groaned.
"Not another one," Bonnie muttered.
"Can we not go for a two month period without there being a problem?" Caroline asked.
"Well, there was that time I ran away," I said. "There weren't any problems then."
"Aside from the fact that you ran away," Damon said.
"Eh," I shrugged.
"What's the problem now?" Stefan asked.
"Tyler's a werewolf," Damon said.
"We already knew that," Caroline said.
"That's old news," Shadow said.
"No, no," I said. "As in he's all furry now. For real. Every full moon."
"What?" Everyone but me and Damon asked simultaneously.
"Yeah, he kinda killed someone last night," Damon said. "Don't worry, I got rid of the body."
"Who was it?" Caroline asked.
"Sarah Moore," I said.
"How?" Elena said, finding her voice.
"He accidently pushed her down the stairs," I said.
"What do you mean, got rid of the body?" Stefan asked Damon.
"You know, put her in the woods, placed a rock with blood next to her," Damon shrugged. "Anyone asked, she tripped and hit her head. Which is pretty much what happened in the first place."
"You put her in the woods?" Caroline asked.
"We've got to tell someone where her body is," Bonnie said. "Everyone's going to wonder where she is."
"Then go ahead and tell someone," Damon said.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Elena asked with narrowed eyes.
"It's not like I knew the girl," Damon said. "So why should I care?"
Stefan glared at him. Elena shook her head at Damon.
"Damon, someone died," Bonnie said. "You can't just brush it off just like that."
"Sure I can," Damon said, downing the rest of his drink.
Before an argument could break out, I stepped in.
"Guys, it's Damon. He cares as much about human life as I do about school," I said. "Now's not the time to argue. If anything, it's a good thing that Damon moved the body. We don't need that kind of attention."
"And besides, that's not the important thing," Damon said. "Tyler's a werewolf now. It's a danger for us, and we need to be aware of that. But he doesn't need to be aware of us." He looked around at all of us. "It is crucially important that none of you let him know what we are."
I frowned. I was sure Damon knew that Tyler knew about us.
"A werewolf bite can kill a vampire, so as far as he's concerned, we're all humans, okay?" Damon asked.
I glanced at Shadow and he raised an eyebrow at me. Crap. Good work Marni, really. Just let Tyler know we're all supernatural creatures. I mentally slapped my forehead. How was I meant to know not to tell him? Damon was going to kill me when he found out I told Tyler everything. Dammit. Shadow knew Tyler knew aswell. It was at that moment an idea struck me.
I snapped my head up.
"Um..." I said, thinking of an excuse. "I'm hungry. I'm going to go to the Grill and get some food. Okay? Yeah, that's what I'm going to do."
I stood up and Damon looked at me suspiciously. I smiled sheepishly. I grabbed Shadow's arm and pulled him up.
"Come on, you're coming too," I said.
"You know, if you want to go on a date with me, all you had to do is ask," he said with a smart ass grin.
"Shut up," I said, rolling my eyes.
Instead of walking to the door, I walked to the stairs.
"Marni, the front door's this way," Shadow said.
"I know, I just have to grab something," I said. "Come on."
When we reached my room, I shut the door. I walked into my closed and rummaged through things, tossing them behind me.Where did I put it?
"I've got to say," Shadow said. "Sleeping on me, forcing me to go with you to the Grill, leading me up to your bedroom and shutting the door, it really does make me suspect you're in love with me."
"You're so up yourself," I muttered. I found what I was looking for and grinned. I pullen a big wooden chest out and slid it into the middle of my wardrobe.
I opened it and looked at my stash of crystals. Shadow crouched down beside me. Spotting the one I wanted, I pulled out a small yellow crystal and slipped it into my other hand, while closing the chest again.
"What-" Before he could say another word, I put my hand up against his mouth and motioned for him to be quiet. He raised an eyebrow.
Not here, I mouthed. I stood up and he stood up too.
"Get out," I said. "I have to get dressed."
"What's your point?" he asked.
I rolled my eyes and pushed his arm. He laughed and walked out of the wardrobe. I zoomed around in a blur and changed from my black dress to boots, jeans and a grey shirt, along with my leather jacket, a scarf and my slouchy beanie.
I walked out to my room to find Shadow looking at the pictures I'd stuck on my wall.
"Is that Elijah?" he asked when I walked up beside him.
"Yep," I said. "Right before I came back. He found me in Walmart. I had to get a picture. It's on my bucket list."
"Getting a picture of Elijah is on your bucket list?" he asked.
"No, getting a picture of Elijah in Walmart is on my bucket list," I said. "Well, was on my bucket list, now that I've done it."
After a quick brush through of my hair, and washing my face, we set off.
I yelled goodbye to the others, who were still in the kitchen. Shadow had brought his car, so we didn't have to walk. I was in love with Shadow's car. I was half tempted to steal it, but I knew he'd know it was me.
"So... you going to tell me what we're doing?" Shadow asked when we pulled out of the drive way.
I pulled the crystal from my pocket and held it up.
"This crystal has the power to tamper with memories," I said. "If Damon finds out I told Tyler everything, he'll kill me. So I'm going to make Tyler forget what we are."
"And you're dragging me into this because..?"
"Last time I asked you to keep a secret, you told Damon," I said. "This way, I can make sure you don't."
"I only told Damon because there was a chance you could've died," he said.
"But I didn't," I said. "So therefore it was the wrong this to do."
He sighed but didn't respond.
The process with Tyler was simple. He no longer remembered that he knew what we were. He didn't know about anyone. Except me. I felt sorry for him. He was going through this alone. At the last moment I'd hesitated and decided that if it was just me he knew about, it would be fine. Shadow had disagreed, but didn't stop me.
We went to the Grill after, leaving Tyler asleep on his couch. Turns out I was starving, so I ordered food and sat down at a booth, Shadow sitting across from me. Talking filled the room as people socialised.
"So now that we're dating..." Shadow begun. I glared at him.
"We're not dating," I said. "And if you keep it up, we won't even be friends."
"But we're destined to be together!" he said dramatically, clutching his heart.
"You're a tool," I laughed.
"Yes, a tool to fix your unsatisfied heart," he said.
I broke out into laughter. "That is the cheesiest line I have ever heard."
"I know, I heard some guy say it a few decades back," he grinned. "I thought I'd give it a try."
I shook my head. I looked over to the pool tables and spotted Jeremy. He was with Vicki. He looked up and met my eyes. I smiled and gave him a small wave, which he returned.
"Ooh, is that jealously I smell?" Shadow asked, looking to Vicki and then back to me.
"No, that's lemonade," I said.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh please, Jeremy and I went out ages ago, it honestly doesn't bother me," I lied.
"Uh huh," he said, clearly not believing me.
"Whatever," I said. "Althought I'm pretty sure Vicki doesn't like me."
"And why would that be?"
"Because Jeremy and I are best friends, and she probably thinks I have a thing for him," I said.
"Which you do," Shadow said.
"Which I don't," I said.
"If you say so," he said.
"You know, I liked it better when you were mysterious and only appeared in my visions or mirrors," I said, glaring at him.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "You would kill yourself if you didn't see me on a day to day basis."
"Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't killed myself now."
"Are you saying you don''t like me?" Shadow asked, a hurt expression on his face. It was almost convincing. Almost.
"Not one bit," I said.
The hurt look vanished and he flashed a brilliant grin, that was gone in an instant.
"So you don't like me?"
"No," I said. "Well, maybe just a little, considering we're best buddies and all. But you're extremely annoying and cocky."
"But would you be friends with me if I wasn't annoying and cocky?" he asked.
"Hmm... Don't know," I said.
He flashed another smile and stole some of my lemonade. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
School resumed a few days later, and as usual, I was late.
"Crap, crap crap!" I muttered, rushing around my room and grabbing my stuff. I quickly wrapped a gray scarf around my neck and pulled my black flat boots on. I grabbed my bag and ran downstairs, trying not to trip over.
"Good morning," Damon said, walking into the hallway.
"Keys!" I replied. He held them up and I grabbed them.
"Have a great day at school," he smirked.
I poked my tongue out at him before rushing outside and climbing into Damon's car. I turned the key in the ignition and floored it, pulling out onto the road and heading towards the school. Breaking the speed limit, I got there in three minutes. I pulled up beside a very nice looking black mustang. I hopped out, grabbed my bag and walked really fast into the school.
What did I have first today? I frowned, thinking about it. I relaxed when I realised I had history. Ric would let me off.
It was at that moment when I rounded a corner and smacked straight into someone. I stumbled but a hand caught my arm, steadying me. I blinked and looked up into a pair of bright silver eyes. The boy infront of me looked around seventeen, and he had dark blonde hair. He was tall, and my head only came up to his shoulders. His held a slight tan, although it looked more from heritage than the sun, and he had the ghost of a smile on his face. He seemed a little familiar, like he reminded me of someone, but I couldn't place it.
"Sorry," he said in a voice as smooth as silk.
In other words, I'm surprised I wasn't drooling.
"No, it's fine," I said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
He flashed a grin and held out his hand.
"I'm Ash," he said.
"Marni," I replied, shaking his hand. And then I remembered I was late. "Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I am really late for class."
"Oh sure," he said. "I'll see you around I guess."
"It was nice meeting you," I said with a smile before hurrying off.
I took a short cut to the classroom, and my boots made a squeeking noise when I skidded to a halt at the door. The class turned and looked at me, and Alaric raised an eyebrow.
"What's up?" I asked.
"And you're late because?" Alaric asked.
"Neither Stefan or Damon woke me up this morning," I said. "That and I was making the new kid feel welcome."
"Oh," Alaric said. "So, who is this new kid you speak of?"
Damn, he wouldn't believe me.
"Ah, that'd be me, sir," a voice said from behind me. I jumped. I hadn't even heard him appear. Ash looked down at me with a smirk. "Look's like we have the same class."
I smiled and looked back at Alaric. He motioned for us to take a seat. I sat in my usual spot next to Jeremy, and Ash sat in the empty seat across the room.
I murmured a hello to Jeremy, which he returned, but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at Ash with guarded eyes.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said, leaving his eyes on Ash a second longer before turning away. "I'm fine."
I shrugged it off. Halfway through the class I could feel eyes on me. I frowned and looked around. I met eyes with Ash and he smirked at me, before looking away. I looked at him for a couple of seconds before turning my eyes back to my work. Well that was random.
It was lunchtime, and I was sitting in the girls bathroom. It's not like I needed to pee or anything, it's just that I get the best reception for my phone in the cubical at the end of the row of toilets. I was currently texting Lexi, because she was trying to figure out Damon's new hiding spot for the alcohol. He'd hit it well this time. It took me over an hour to find it, which is impressive. I was giving Lexi false clues, because as much as I love her, Damon would kill me if I told.
I heard the door push open and voices filled the room.
"I mean, it's obvious that she's still in love with him," a familiar voice said.
"Vicki, they're just friends," another voice said.
"But you should see the looks Marni gives him," Vicki said. "I don't know how Jeremy doesn't notice it."
I almost let out a laugh. How ironic. She was bitching about me behind my back, but I was in the room.
"Are you sure you're not just being a jealous girlfriend?" A voice I recognised to be Emma Burnett asked. She was friends with Elena, and from what I could tell, she was nice and rational.
"Yes," Vicki snapped. "God, I wish I could just put her in her place."
I mentally scoffed. I would own her.
"Why? She hasn't done anything to you," Emma said.
"She's trying to steal her boyfriend," the other girl said. I recognised the annoying tone of her voice. It was Laura Williams, a senior that spread rumors like a prostitute spreaded herpes. I know, bad comparision, but it was true. Wouldn't be surprised if she had herpes actually. I made a face at the thought.
Emma snorted. "If that's what you want to call it. Like I said, they're best friends."
"Not if I can help it," Vicki muttered.
"What do you mean?" Laura asked.
"I going to make Jeremy forget all about that little bitch," Vicki said.
"Don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" Emma asked.
"No," Vicki said. "She's a nuisance, and needs to be taken care of."
"You're not going to like, hurt her, are you?" Laura asked.
When Vicki didn't respond, I assumed she shrugged. I chose that moment to make my appearance. I flushed the toilet, even though I didn't pee, and unlocked the cubical, walking out with a pleasant smile on my face.
Vicki froze when she saw my reflection in the mirror, and Laura's eyes widened. Emma hid a smile, and I had the suspician that she was enjoying all of this.
"Hello Vicki," I greeted. "Laura, Emma," I added with a nod in their direction.
I washed my hands and kept the pleasant smile up. Oh the look on her face was priceless. I was so tempted to take a picture. With one last grin in Vicki's direction, I left.
So, she was planning to make Jeremy forget all about me. I laughed under my breath. She could try.
I was sitting at the Grill, chilling in one of the back corner booths with a book and a glass of lemonade. In other words, my life was complete for the moment. I looked up when someone sat down with me.
"Stefan," I said happily. "What brings you to my anti-social corner?"
"Thought I'd come say hi," he said. "What are you up to?"
"Not much," I said. "Being vindictive, planning to humiliate someone, the usual."
"And who is this someone?"
"It's a surprise," I said.
"And what is this plan?"
"Well, I was planning to kill them, but I thought that was a little harsh, so I decided to make their life a living hell," I said with a shrug.
Stefan looked at me for a second.
"You scare me," he said.
"I scare a lot of people," I said.
"That doesn't surprise me," he said.
"Remember the good old days Stefan?" I asked. "When you and Damon were human, and I was the girl who practically lived in your gardens because they were prettier than mine."
Stefan smiled. "I remember the time you threatened to kill Damon because he said that they weren't that pretty."
"Ah, fun times," I sighed.
"Elena's here," Stefan said, "I'll talk to you later?"
"Sure," I said.
After a while, my lemonade ran out, and I got depressed. I slipped my book into my bag and walked up to the bar, sliding onto a stool. I ordered a lemonade and casually waited. I let my eyes browse across the bar and I spotted Damon watching me. I raised an eyebrow at him. He was looking at me with a strange expression, like he couldn't make up his mind about something.
I cocked my head to the side. He blinked and frowned, before shaking his head and looking away. What was that about? I picked up my lemonade from where the bartender set it down and paid him, before getting off my stool and making my way over to Damon.
And then for the second time that day, I ran into someone.
"Sorry," I muttered. I looked up and saw Ash smirking down at me.
"We gotta stop meeting like this," he said.
"But I like running into people, it's fun," I said sarcastically.
He flashed a grin.
"So, what brings you here?" I asked.
"I heard it was the place everyone hangs out, thought I'd check it out," he shrugged. "You?"
"I was just going to talk to my brother," I said, looking back at the bar. But Damon's seat was empty. I scanned the room, but couldn't find him. "Who seems to have disappeared on me."
"Well, need some company?" he asked.
"Sure, why not?" I said. "I've had my fair share of being a loner today."
He flashed another brilliant grin.
"So," I said when we sat down at a booth. "What brings you to the town of Mystic Falls?"
"Hmm...I guess you could say I'm visiting family," he said.
"Ah," I said. "Where did you live before here?"
"England," he answered.
"Whoa," I said. "Big change."
He shrugged. "I was only there for a couple of years."
"Why didn't you stay?" I asked.
"Guess I missed my family too much," he said, but there was a glint of amusement in his eyes, like I was missing out on some sort of joke. "But enough about me, what's your story?"
Oh, you know, I'm a century and a half old witch that lives with vampires.
"My parents died a couple of years ago, so now I live with my two brothers, Damon and Stefan," I said. "We came here a few months ago."
"Hmm, must be hard," he said.
"Not really," I said. "I'm used to it."
After a few hours of talking, I glanced at my phone.
"Holy crap," I said. "I gotta get home."
"Do you need a ride?" Ash asked.
"No, I-" But I cut off when I dug through my pockets. The keys to Damon's car weren't there. The bastard had stolen them from me without me realising. "On second thoughts, sure, that'd be great."
I grabbed my bag and followed him outside. I stopped when I saw Shadow walking towards the entrance. He froze when he saw us.
"Oh hey Shadow," I said. I stopped. He was looking at Ash with a dangerous glint in his eyes. I frown and look at Ash, who smirked at Shadow.
"What are you doing here?" Shadow asked, his voice laced with venom. He continued to glare at Ash.
"I ran into Marni here, and we decided to hang out," Ash replied, although something about his tone suggested that he was taunting Shadow. I was beyond confused now.
"Do you guys know each other or something?" I asked.
"We have for some time now," Ash replied, not taking his eyes off Shadow.
And then I got it. The similarities between them. The eyes, the hair, the attitude. I finially figured out who Ash reminded me of.
"Wait a sec," I said, my eyes widening. "When you said you were here visiting family-"
"He meant me," Shadow said.
"Yes, little brother, I did," Ash said with a wicked grin.
My jaw dropped a fraction.
Shadow and Ash were brothers?
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Sorry about the wait, I've been super busy lately, but my schedule is dying down now, so I'll have more time to update :D
:O Shadow has a brother! Bet you didn't see that one coming. So what do you think of this mysterious Ash? Cool? Not cool? Let me know.
I love you all and I thank you endlessly for reading, voting and commenting :D
PEACE! <3