"Well, what about garlic?" Zeke whines as he follows close behind me, trying his best to keep up.
I am wound tight, I have to go. I know Zeke wants me to stop so we can talk, but my skin crawls at the idea of sitting still. Trying to focus on school after the last few days has proven to be impossible. I truly tried my best to ignore the slow passing of time, but that last class just felt like torture. I don't think I have ever moved so quickly at the sound of that bell.
"I don't know," I sigh, my annoyance growing with every question he shoots at me, "someone interrupted me before I got a chance to ask!" I look at him out of the side of my eye as I make a little dig at him.
"You went outside!" he shouts exasperated. "I didn't know if he was mind controlling you! Can they even do that?" he lowers his voice trying to keep our conversation just between us, in this crowded hallway that is turning out to be a bit of a challenge.
I suppose my bolting threw the crowd isn't helping.
"I don't know!" I groan, glaring at a girl dressed in a pastel pink poodle skirt who dares to step in my path.
With everything that has been going on I forgot all about spirit week. Now that the halls are filled with people ready for a sock hop, I wish I could forget all over again.
"Maybe I would know more if you hadn't cut it short!"
"Well if you weren't being controlled, then why did you lean outside?" He snaps.
I flush as his words wash over me. Why did I lean out to Damon? I was worried, because I cared whether he got hurt or not. But why? Why does my heart start dancing even just thinking about how close to him I was? Unable to talk about any of this out loud I quickly change the subject. I exaggerate my look of annoyance at the blue and white sagging balloons that decorate the walls.
"Are we really going to the football game on Friday?" I groan as I playfully hit the balloon, its rubbery sound exclamating my annoyance.
"Well of course we are!" Leo's sudden voice makes me jump.
Where did he come from? How much did he hear?
"Yes!" Zeke smiles at him with wide eyes, failing to hide his surprise as well. Sliding a look to me I can see his mind changing gears. "We did say we would go. In fact, why are you not dressed up?"
"Seriously?" I stare dryly at him as I finally come to a stop.
"I think you could pull off the whole Sandy Olsson look" Leo smiles as he looks intensely at me.
A shiver runs through me and I suddenly feel uncomfortable in my skin.
"Before or after the introduction to leather?" Zeke questions doubtfully, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh definitely after. Just imagine that skin tight black outfit. Would be a bombshell" Leo answers.
Zeke eyes me up and down as well, making me shift uncomfortably as a blush creeps in.
"I don't know," Zeke shrugs, "I think I'd rather see her twirling in a poodle skirt" he laughs at whatever evil image his mind creates.
"Ok guys!" I fold my arms over my chest, sick of being talked about like I am not even here. "Both of you need to stop being weird" The bell interrupts my scolding, and I turn my glare up at the invisible sound waves.
"Way to go Leo, running late!" Zeke teases as he makes a tsk tsk motion with his fingers.
"Yea, I got to run. I will see ya at lunch" He turns to leave but hesitates. "Ugh on second thought, I volunteered to help set up for the pep rally"
"You are such a loser" I laugh.
"No he is awesome for having school pride" Zeke argues.
"What about any of this show school pride?" I wave at the people rushing off to class "Nothing about "Decade Day" has anything to do with anything!"
Leo just shakes his head and laughs at me like I just don't get it, which I suppose I don't, and briskly walks toward his class. Zeke and I are left standing in a quickly emptying hallway.
"Well that works." Zeke shrugs and together we turn and continue to head outside.
All night we discussed ways of distracting Leo during lunch. Our first day back after knowing the truth, finally facing Stefan and Elena, being able to talk freely is ideal. We had agreed to make a point to avoid the three (there better only be three) vampires until lunch, that way we have each others back.
Not that I am really worried about being in danger anymore, it's surprising how well I am starting to accept this as reality. Talking with Damon really helped put me at ease. Which is funny, because as Zeke likes to continuously remind me, there is still so much we don't know.
The chilly air bites at my skin, even with a sweatshirt on I can't help but shiver. The sun is warm, but the wind carries the reminder that winter is almost here. We remain silent until we get to our tree and get comfortable on the slowly dying grass. I lean back, finding comfort in the steadiness of the tree.
"I grabbed you a slice of leftover pizza" Zeke says as he holds out a Tupperware to me.
"Oh thanks," a smile plays on my lips, "but I am ok. Dad packed me a lunch!" I excitedly pull out a bowl of my own.
"Whaaaat?"
Zeke grabs at it in disbelief. Ripping off the lid he gapes at the salad topped with sliced strawberries, avocados, and finally pecans.
"Your dad made this?" he eyes me skeptically.
"I know right!" I snatch my dish back and drizzle the vinaigrette that was in a separate bowl over top of it. "He made it last night as a side with dinner. I told him I absolutely loved it so he offered to make a bowl for my lunch."
"I just can't get over it," he shakes his head and takes a bite of his pizza. "I mean being nice I can get used to, but being healthy? I never would have guessed!" he tries to keep his face serious, but when I burst out laughing he losses it.
"What do you think happened to him?" I ask quietly when our giggles die down.
"I don't know," he shrugs and takes a big bite out of his pizza, "does it matter?" he tries to say through a mouth full of food.
"Eeew" I whine and throw a strawberry at him.
He just shrugs, picks the strawberry up and pops it in his mouth. I shake my head at him as I laugh again.
"Do we really have to go to the game?" I ask, referring back to our previous conversation.
"Yes!" he shouts to excitedly. "Why wouldn't we?"
"It just seems so strange," I trail off, unsure how to continue.
"More strange than being friends with you know what's?"
"That just makes it all the stranger! Find out something so calico, and then go watch football? Just seems so." I trail off again unable to come up with the right words.
This information is a life changer, so how can life just go on like normal?
"Well what do you expect?" Zeke asks as he opens the pizza that was originally meant for me and digs in. "The world doesn't stop, we have to keep living like we always have"
"I suppose" I mumble as I scan the parking lot, my eyes landing on the black car I believe to be Damon's.
I wonder where he is? He normally leaves on lunch, probably so he can actually eat I guess. I involuntarily shudder at the realization of what that means.
"Well, after this I mean" he shrugs, referring to this upcoming confrontation.
I haven't been looking forward to this, I wanted to stay home and put this off for as long as possible. Zeke wouldn't hear a word of it, he insisted that 2 days playing hooky was enough. I couldn't very much argue with him.
I pick at my food, finding it hard to eat. It really is delicious, but my nerves have tied my stomach in knots. Zeke pretends not to notice, and does his best to talk about anything other than what we are waiting for.
I vaguely listen to him describe some new band he recently discovered, nodding my head when it feels appropriate. My thoughts never truly stray from the vampires though. I keep having to remind myself that I made it threw my confrontation with Damon, this will be no harder.
All to quickly I hear the bell ringing in the distance. Second lunch has begun, Stefan and Elena will be here any moment. I breathe deeply, doing my best to calm my nerves.
"You sure they will come?"
"Of course," Zeke practically bounces in his spot "I'm sure they know we are here."
As if on cue we see them step out of the school doors and head right to us. They walk hand in hand, looking as casual as any previous day. They slow as they near us, analyzing our every move with soft steady eyes.
"Hey" Elena calls to us, keeping her voice kind and gentle. "May we sit?" she holds up her hands as if to say they are not a threat.
I feel like I lost my voice, thankfully I can see Zeke nodding beside me. They lower themselves to the ground, remaining a bit farther away than typically would be normal. I may believe we aren't in any danger, but still I am thankful for this little bit of extra distance.
"We missed you guys yesterday." Stefan tries to smile, but it falters a bit when he is met with only blank stares.
"We had a lot to think about." I snap, surprising myself with my sudden intensity.
Seeing Elena again brings flashbacks of our previous meeting, of the panic I felt. This time however I don't feel afraid, I feel anger bubbling inside me.
"I'm sure you did" Stefan's voice softens, trying to show he understands. "We are glad you came today"
A wave of annoyance washes over me. They are looking at us like we are scared kittens ready to bolt!
"How did you-" Elena starts but Zeke quickly interrupts.
"No, we have questions first!"
"I knew you would." Stefan cracks a smile, trying to tease about Zeke's love of vampire movies.
"Why are you here?" I shoot my questions out quickly.
Damon refused to answer this last night and it has been eating at me since. They hesitate and share a quick tight glance.
"It's really nothing" Elena tries to brush the subject away.
"Damon didn't make it seem like nothing." I challenge.
Elena gawks at me for a second and glances at Stefan again.
"You saw Damon?" Stefan asks, his face hardening ever so slightly.
"Yea, he came and explained a few things to us" I quickly explain wanting to get back to my original question.
"Why did you call Damon?" Elena asks, looking a bit hurt.
"We didn't." Zeke jumps in. "We called you, but he answered"
Elena sighs and shakes her head annoyed. "I am sorry, we probably could have been more gentle explaining things."
"He was fine." I curtly respond, trying not to acknowledge the light blush I feel coming on as I think about him again.
Elena stares at me, her head tilting to the side just a bit as she considers me. I bite my lip and silently beg her to just move on.
"What did he say we were here for?" she finally asks.
"He didn't." Zeke pushes "He only said we would have to ask you."
Zeke slides me a quick glance and I know he is thinking the same thing I am. Damon wouldn't tell me because he wanted to keep me safe. Now my blush only deepens.
"We are looking for something." Stefan offers, obviously not wanting to elaborate.
"What kind of something?" Zeke immediately asks, he is not going to let them get away with being so vague.
"It's better if you don't know." Elena quickly jumps in.
I groan impatiently, this is going in the same direction as when I asked Damon.
"I'm sick of all this cryptic shit, just be straight with us!" Zeke exclaims, exactly what I was thinking.
"Well that's the thing" Elena starts slowly, glancing at Stefan as she does. "All we have is cryptic shit." she shrugs.
"And what does that mean?" I cringe as I hear myself whine.
"I was contacted by an old friend." Stefan starts but hesitates as Elena looks at him unconvinced. "Ok, not a friend." he starts again. " She sent us to search for a key that will stop something horrible from happening. But that is all we really know. She didn't make a whole lot of sense when she was telling us about it"
I feel my mouth drop open and I look at Zeke in disbelief, but he isn't paying me any attention.
"Well can't you ask her to explain it better?" He sits up straighter, now in high alert at the thought of danger.
"No, it's too late. She is gone" Elena answers, watching us carefully as we absorb this.
"Well of course she is." Zeke throws his hands on the air in defeat. "Well how long do you have?"
"We don't know"
"How long have you been looking?" Zeke asks exasperated, his voice raising in pitch with each word.
"3 years" Stefan states simply.
"3 years!" Zeke echoes, "Well I guess the threat isn't too eminent"
"Well," Elena drags the word out like she isn't exactly sure how to continue, "Its hard to say. Could be next week, could be in 50 years."
"Time is a bit different when you could have eternity." Stefan adds.
We sit there in silence for a moment, letting that really sink in.
"So are we in danger?" Zeke finally asks, sounding deflated compared to just a few moments ago.
"We wouldn't let anything happen to you guys" Elena leans in as she quickly responds.
"Why?" I can't help but ask. "Aren't we just here to help you blend in?" I snap, sounding harsher than I intended.
Elena cringes and drops her gaze.
"Did Damon say that?" Stefan asks, his mouth set in a tight line.
"Not exactly" Zeke glances at me, silently telling me to chill a bit.
"We really do care about you" Elena stares deep into my eyes, imploring me to believe her. "We joined school to blend in and get information, we hang out with you because we consider you friends."
"This is a pretty big thing to keep from friends." Zeke mumbles.
"Well it's not exactly something we can use as an opener" Stefan laughs.
" So I know your super old Stefan, but how old are you Elena?" I move on, needing to make sure all of my unanswered quotations get responses this time.
"Truthfully not much older than I look, it wasn't too long ago that I got turned." she shrugs
"How did it happen?" Zeke asks curiously.
"Damon said it wasn't planed, but he wouldn't go into details" I give her the little bit of information we know.
"Uh, well first thing to know is that vampire blood is very powerful." She starts explaining, running her hand through her hair as she does.
She looks a little uncomfortable with this conversation but she continues on.
"I was injured, like start saying your goodbyes bad. I was given just a little vampire blood, which was able to help me heal. That was supposed to be the end of it, but later that day I was in an accident. Our car went over a bridge and I drowned."
"Oh my god!" I gasp
"Yea it was a pretty dramatic experience. Quite a shock to those who didn't know I was going to wake back up" she glances at Stefan and shifts uncomfortably.
"I bet it was quite a shock for you as well" I sympathize.
She shrugs and finally looks back over to us. "Everything worked out"
She tries to give us a smile but it's weak. Stefan reaches for her hand and gives it a little squeeze.
"We will continue to answer any questions you guys have," Stefan turns his attention back to us. "but we really do need to know how you figured out the truth."
"We need to make sure no one else figures it out." Elena adds.
"I don't think you have to worry about that," Zeke laughs a little, "even if we did tell anyone no one would believe us."
"You would be surprised, we have been chased out of towns by hunters before." Stefan grimaces at the memory.
"Seriously?" I stare back at them. "I mean, with everything else that shouldn't surprise me. But wow!"
"Yea, something we would like to avoid if possible." a hint of a smile plays on Elena's lips as she watches our surprised reaction.
"Well you don't have to worry about something you're doing giving you away." Zeke assures them. "The only reason we know is because we saw Damon." he stops and glances at me, unsure how to explain the nights events.
Elena shifts uncomfortable and Stefan stiffen at the mention of his brother.
"He didn't-" Elena starts but is interrupted by a sudden voice behind me.
"Try to eat them? No, I can control my appetite."
A warm wave runs through me at the sound of Damon's voice. I am so swept away with it that it takes me a moment to understand his words.
"Holly shhh!" Zeke's shout trails off as he jumps to face the unexpected addition to our group. "Where the hell did you come from!"
"I was wondering when you would join us." Stefan says dryly as he glares at Damon.
How long he has been listening? Out of the corner of my eye I can see his dark jeans as he steps beside me. It takes everything in me not to turn to him as I hear him lean against the very tree I am sitting back on.
"No seriously," Zeke shouts "don't you make any noise when you walk? You could give a person a heart attack!"
"Just keeping things interesting" Damon drawls, hardly giving Zeke a glance.
"Don't you have class?" I tease him.
Giving in, I lean my head back on the tree and look up at him. Our eyes meet instantly, he was already looking at me. My heart skips a beat and a smile pulls at my lips before I get a chance to compose myself.
"And miss out on all this fun" he smirks down at me.
I bite my lip to stop my smile from widening and quickly look away from him. Reminding myself we aren't alone I try to breathe deeply in hopes of keeping my blush at bay.
"What did you do Damon?" Elena asks coldly, obviously not in as playful of a mood as he is.
"Oh lighten up, I didn't do anything to hurt anyone." he sneers.
"Well," Zeke moves his head from side to side like he is unsure if he agrees with that.
"Damon!" Stefan scolds reminding me of how a father might.
"Ok, I may have tossed her dad around a bit. But he is fine" he shrugs like it was just an average night.
"A bit?" Zeke mumbles and I have a sudden urge to smack him upside the head.
Stefan and Elena both level their hard glare on Damon who only shrugs.
"He was about to hit her, would you rather I let him?"
"Of course not!" Elena quickly shifts her gaze to me, reassuring me once again she doesn't want anything bad to happen.
"Was that all you did?" Stefan eyes him skeptically.
"Pretty much." Damon shrugs casually.
"Her dad has been acting weird ever since" Zeke slowly offers the words up.
"Hey!" I gape at him. "You are the one who has been insisting that it's not connected!" I swing at him even thought I have no intention of actually hitting him.
"Well I knew you would never have the guts to ask." he shrugs sheepishly, hardly able to look back at me.
"You compelled him!" Elena shrieks at Damon, her anger pulling her to her feet. "What were you thinking?" she demands as she takes a step closer to him, and in turn me.
"Judgy little thing aren't you." Damon raises an eyebrow at her, mischief playing in his eyes. "I wasn't the one who tried to mess with her mind." he motions to me with a tilt of his head.
"What?" I snap as his words sink in.
He must be talking about me, about that feeling I got when Elena and I were at the park together. Now I am the one rising to me feet, staring at Elena in horror.
"You did what to me?"
"Reza," she spins her attention to me.
Her eyes soften and she holds her hands out to reassure me, but it only makes me angrier.
"Can someone please explain?" Zeke asks urgently as he clumsily stands as well.
"It's an ability we have." Stefan slowly explains, looking between us like we are a bomb ready to set off. "We can erase memories and make people do things. It's vital in keeping our existence a secret."
"Aka, mess with peoples minds" Damon chirps in with a smirk.
"What did you try to do to me?" I yell at Elena, my anger only rising as I remember the danger I felt.
"I was just trying to help," she pleads with me.
"By what, whipping my memory or trying to make me do something?" I throw Stefan's words at her.
"If I remember correctly, she was trying to get you to stay away from me" Damon's voice urges me on as her words are brought back to me.
"Shut up Damon!" she demands and momentarily breaks eye contact with me to glare at him.
"Why would you do that? You say your our friend, but that doesn't seem very friend like!" I spit the words at her as I try and wrap my head around this.
"Because I'm the big bad boogie man" Damon teases, making his eyes big as he does.
"Your not helping Damon!" Stefan yells at him, taking a step forward to push him away.
"Stop!" I shout "Just stop! This is too much, I can't think!"
I run my hands through my hair and bite my lip as I try to call myself down. Demanding my brain to start working I try to ignore everyone who is now just staring at me.
What do I do?
I glance between Damon and Elena, getting overwhelmed with mixed emotions. They both did something horrible, but they both say they had good intentions. I bite my lip resisting the urge to crumble into a ball and deny everything that is going on. Suddenly a thought strikes me, piercing my heart.
"So, you made my dad like this?" my voice is hardly above a whisper.
I force my self to look up at Damon, his eyes soften as he realizes what I am talking about.
"He didn't change because he cared for me? You made him be kind?" I drop my gaze, unable to look at anyone as my eyes fill with tears.
I feel Zeke softly touch my back, but for once I feel no comfort.
"Oh hun!" Elena cooes, taking a step toward me to try and comfort me.
I recoil from her and find myself pushing back against the tree.
"It's all a lie? He never loved me," I breathe, tears falling down my cheek.
"No." Damon states assertively. I find my gaze shifting up to his intense stare. "I told him to quit drinking and be responsible. Any kindness or love he has shown you is true, I didn't create any false feelings."
"Promise?" I choke out, desperate for this to be true.
"I told you I wouldn't lie" his lip curls up into a small smile.
I sniffle and give a curt nod, but deep down I still have my doubts. Elena purses her lips as she stares at Damon, but whatever she is thinking she keeps it to herself. Without a word she turns and goes back to her backpack. Pulling something out she returns with something in each of her hands.
"I can not express how sorry I am." She apologizes to me, her eyes begging me to understand. "I know I shouldn't have done it, I was feeling desperate and I did something stupid."
"Desperate about what?" I ask, not yet sure how I should feel.
"Damon is right," she sighs, like it hurts to admit. "I felt like you needed to stay away from him, that he would only hurt you. Looks like I may have been wrong"
I hear Damon snort in response but I do not turn away from her.
"I promise, to both of you," she glances between Zeke and I, "that you will be safe from any manipulation."
She opens her hands to reveal two simple black boxes. She motions for us to take them, which Zeke does eagerly but I can not help but hesitate. Zeke opens the little box he was given to reveal a simple silver locket with a little star burst symbol in the center.
"What are these?" Zeke excitedly pulls out the necklace to examine it closer.
"They are to help you." She answers.
Elena moves her hand closer to me, urging me to take the box meant for me. With shaky hands I accept, but just stand there awkwardly holding it.
"They hold an herb inside of it," Stefan explains, "it will make it so no vampire can get inside your mind."
"So it makes us vampire proof?" Zeke eyes widen at the mystery of it
"Pretty much" Elena smiles reassuringly at us.
I open the lid to reveal another silver locket, unlike Zeke's though mine is much more intricate with a swirly lace design. I stare at the beautiful pattern and think about what this could mean. With this we can move on, won't have to worry about being in danger right?
"Ah, so this is where you two ran off to yesterday." Damon comments, stepping towards me.
I see Elena eye him and tense at his movement, but she does not interfere.
"We had to try and do something." Stefan barks, Damon just ignores the two of them.
"May I?" He gently places his hand under mine, steadying me.
Unable to find my voice I simply nod. Carefully he picks up the chain with just two fingers. I watch closely as his pointer finger just barely grazes the locket and he cringes away just slightly.
"Are you ok?"
I furrow my brow, studying his hand, unsure if I really saw that right. He just smiles as if nothing happened and pulls the necklace from the box, only touching the chain.
"This does more than just keep you out doesn't it?"
"It's essentially a poison. It won't kill us but it can significantly weaken us" Stefan explains.
My eyes dart away from the necklace and gaze at Damon as wave of panic shoots through me. A poison? Does that mean they won't be able to be near us?
"Don't worry," Damon speaks softly, just to me, "you won't get rid of me that easy. Now turn around."
I hesitate just a moment, oddly afraid to let him out of my sight, but I do as he says. As soon as my back is to him I see the necklace getting lowered over my head until it comes to rest against my chest. Realizing my hair will get in the way I quickly gather it in my hand and hold it to the side, leaving my neck bare. The back of his hands lightly brushes against my skin, sending tingles through my body, as he does the clasp for me.
A sense of loss overwhelms me as I feel the chain fall on to my neck, and his hands retreating away from me. Turning back to him I can tell I am blushing, but I try to smile. Elena is staring at me oddly, but when she sees me notice she just smiles.
"It looks great" she beams.
"So, is this like a bribe to get us to accept you?" Zeke laughs as he slips the necklace over his head.
"Of course not!" Elena laughs "That is a bribe to get you to forgive us"
"This is the bribe to get you to accept us." Stefan smiles broadly as he pulls three very warn looking books from his backpack.
"Oooh, and what are those?" Zeke eyes them greedily.
"Some of my old family journals. A lot of information in there about vampires." Elena laughs, and even I have to giggle as Zeke excitedly grabs them out of Stefan's hands.
Plopping himself on the ground he no longer is paying us any attention, already skimming through the first pages of the top book.
"A lot if information on how to kill vampires." Damon glares at the books, "don't get any ideas."
"Kill?" I ask Elena horrified.
"My family were hunters," she shrugs, "but that's all over with now." I nod, but now look at the books as if they are somehow tainted.
"We figured he would enjoy going through some actual records, rather than grasping at myths." Stefan steps closer to us, giving Zeke space to get lost in the old words.
"Well you couldn't be more right about that one" I grumble.
Those would have been nice to see before we spent hours doing useless research.
"Allthough I am sure you would also enjoy taking a look at them, I have something different for you." Elena smiles mischievously at me as she reaches in her bag again.
"You know you didn't have to do that! All I really wanted was to know what was going on." I laugh nervously, feeling uncomfortable with receiving more gifts.
"Yes, but with everything going on I figured you would have forgotten all about picking this little number up." She grins as she slowly pulls out a bag from the thrift store down town.
"Are you serious?" I laugh as she wiggles it in front of me until I accept it.
"Oh, what is it?" Zeke takes a moment from reading to look up curiously.
"It's a dress, want to see?"
"No!" Elena shouts as I am about to pull it out. "That will ruin the big reveal!" she stares at me like this should be obvious.
"Big reveal?" I ask lamely.
"This is your first dance," she starts, putting her hands on her hips " we will get all dolled up and then they can finally see it"
"Yes!" Zeke shouts getting excited. "You know I love surprises!"
"I don't know," I eye the dress feeling unsure about the concept.
"I mean." Elena hesitates. "If you still want to get ready with me."
Any remaining anger I held melts away as I look at her, shyly standing there not able to look at me. Even when I pushed them away they all tried so hard to make us understand. I've always wanted people to accept me, so how can I shun them for being different.
"Well," a smile plays on my lips even as I try to keep my face serious. "What's the point of a bribe if we don't keep our end of the deal? Besides, I have no idea how to do my hair."
I laugh, and Elena breathes a sigh of relief before laughing as well. Damon smirks at me, and I realize for the first time he is still standing particularly close. I bite my lip and shyly smile back. A new sense of calm settles around us. Without the fear of anymore mysterious secrets I slowly allow myself to relax and once again, enjoy the people around me. Things may not be how they were before, but now at least it's all real.