chapter five. weird feelings

season one—————episode three.

      ELODIE SOLACE HAD GOTTEN DRUNK ONCE in her life. It was the eight grade dance, and she had just been ditched by her date, Lucas Jackson when Caroline swooped in, sensing her distress. The only way thing Caroline could think of the help the situation was to pull the flask she had snagged from a chaperone. The two girls—albeit, unknowingly—got blackout drunk under the bleachers. Dalton was the one to find them, and to this day he was the only person to witness Elodie drunk and deal with the hungover version the next morning.

      The headache she woke up with the night after the comet, beat out her first and only hangover from three years ago.

      She woke up in the hotel bed, dressed in a one of Daltons old shirts. The trashcan was sitting next to her bed was the only difference from her room the night before. Elodie raised a hand to her head as she sat up, a headache forming at the base of her skull as she tried to remember how exactly she got back to her room. She remembered Caroline walking away and then. . .nothingness. Her mind drew a blank after Caroline left.

Elodie dropped her hand, falling back into the pillows of her bed, which rivaled her own in fluffiness. She had woken up panting and her heart still thumped against her throat from her dream, but every time she tried to recall that, she drew another blank. So, she decided to call the one person in the town who knew everything. Except, her best friend didn't answer the phone, even after she called twice.

Elodie sighed, trying to ignore the headache looming in her mind as she typed out a message to Caroline before throwing her phone into the mess of blankets and pillows. Elodie showered, pulled curlers in her hair before she found an outfit—a low cut baby blue top, that she layered over a white lace tank top, and a pair of low rise bootcut jeans. The last thing she did was pull out the curlers, letting her hair fall in soft beach waves down her shoulders before grabbing her backpack and walking out of the room.

      With Caroline out of commission, Dalton was forced to drive the two of them to school. The ride was silent—save for the radio playing country music—until Elodie broke it. "Do you remember how I got home?"

      Dalton scoffed, "what the goodie-too shoes got too blackout drunk and can't remember the guy that carried you back home? God, I hope mom and dad find out."

      Elodie stilled. "What?"

      Dalton laughed harshly, "brown hair? Insanely tall? Carried you home because he said you feel asleep during the comet and didn't want you getting cold. When are you telling mom and dad about him?"

      "What are you even talking about?" Elodie was even more confused because only one boy she knew of had brown hair and was insanely taller—Stefan. And last night he seemed hellbent on ignoring her existence, which Elena was going for him so it seemed art to ignore him until her crush went away.

      "Fine, pretend you don't know." Dalton rolled his eyes, parking in an open spot in front of the school, "I have practice so don't expect a ride home."

      Elodie nodded, grabbing her cheer bag from the back of his car as well as her own, "I've got tryouts tonight and then I'm heading straight to the shelter so don't worry about it either. I'll catch a ride with Caroline or someone."

      Dalton nodded, half-listening to his sister as he headed over to Tyler Lockwood and a few other football players on the team. Elodie nodded to herself walking into school ready to face the rest of her classes. People in the hallway smiled at her, waving or commenting on her outfit and hair.

      "Sunshine! Over here," Bonnie waved to the girl and Elodie hurried over to the two brunettes.

      "Okay guys, I need to know what happened last night," Elodie spoke after greeting the two.

      Elena smiled. "Me and Stefan kissed."

      Elodie didn't know why, but her stomach dropped and a deep pit formed in her stomach. She should be happy for Elena, god she should've been cheering so loud for her, but she couldn't find it in herself. It's the headache, she thought to herself before plastering a wide grin and began bouncing on her feet.

      "That's so good, E!" Elodie gasped, "I told you to just go for it!"

      Elena smiled, "and I couldn't have don't it without you Ellie."

"I think she needs to take it slow," Bonnie added.

"But you told me to go for it too, Bon." Elena pointed at her best friend.

"And now I'm saying take it slow." Bonnie crossed her arms, her eyes bouncing between the two girls.

"Why the about-face?" Elena narrowed her eyes.

"There's no about face!" Bonnie laughed, before giving in, "I'm just saying, you're single for the first time in your high school career. Maybe play the field a little."

"Yes, because I'm so that girl," Elena rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what are you not saying?"

Bonnie swallowed harshly, taking a few moments before she found the courage to speak up, "I accidentally touched Stefan, and I just got a bad feeling."

"Thats it?" Elena questioned, and Elodie readjusted her backpack on her shoulder, dropping her cheer bag to the floor as she unlocked her locker to shove it inside.

"It was bad, bad, Elena."

"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena laughed.

Elodie turned and smiled at Bonnie, having shut her locker. "I think you're a witch Bon, that would be so cool. Being best friends with a witch?"

Bonnie ignored Elodie's positivity, "you know what, I'm just concerned! This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."

Elodie's stomach did another weird twist and she excused herself from the conversation. The warning bell sounded as she splashed water over her cheeks. Elodie tightened her grip on the sink as she sighed, trying to reign in the weird feeling in her stomach. She had eaten something bad, that was what she decided. She glanced in the mirror, finding her blonde hair golden and glowing, her eyes a distinct gold. Elodie screamed, blinking and the golden was gone.

      She left the bathroom right after, making it to class just after Elena and Stefan—the pair had walked in holding hands—and Elodie's stomach did another weird flip. She found her usual seat under the window, unfortunately next to Stefan as well. She busied herself with doodling with her new pens. They weren't new, but Lily had grabbed them when she made Elodie's bag, and Elodie had forgotten she even owned them. The subtle shimmer in the pink ink sparkled across the page as she began sketching.

      "Pearl Harbor?" Elodie was faintly paying attention to the class, but Elena and Stefan were obviously not paying attention. Their teacher had caught wind, placing Elena on the spot: "Ms. Gilbert? Pearl Harbor?"

"Um," Elena clearly didn't know the question, pursing her lips as she tilted her head down.

"December 7, 1941." Elodie nodded at Stefan's interruption.

"Thank you, Ms. Glibert." Tanner replied, annoyance laced his words.

"Any time," Stefan provoked, and Elodie allowed herself one glance at him. The sun coated his hair in a way that made his dark brown hair look golden, and the ring on his finger reflected the sun.

"Very well." Tanner adjusted himself, "the fall of the Berlin Wall?"

"1989. I'm very good with dates, sir," Stefan smirked. Elodie knew Tanner, she had to cheer as she listened to him yell at the football team and Elodie knew he wouldn't give up until he was right and Stefan was proved wrong.

      Tanner cocked his head, "are you? Let's see how good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act."

      "1964."

      "John F. Kennedy assassination?"

      "1963."

      "Martin Luther King."

      "1968."

      "Lincoln?" Tanner was inching closer to Stefan's desk, his eyes narrowing in on the boy.

      "1865," the scare tactic didn't work, as Stefan leaned back in his chair.

      "Roe versus Wade."

      "1973."

      "Brown versus Board?"

      "1954."

      "The battle of Gettysburg."

      "1863."

      "Korean war?"

      "1950 to 1953."

      Tanner smacked his hands together, "Ha! It ended in '52!" The rest of the class let a a few chuckles, but Stefan remained unbothered. Elodie had dozed off, but even she knew that Stefan was right.

      Elodie glanced at Stefan, who bent forward on his desk, "actually, it was '53."

      "Look it up, somebody!" Tanner commanded, as students around Elodie began pulling out their phones. Elodie glanced at her phone sitting alone in the phone hotel as Tanner shouted at the class once more, "quickly!"

      "It was 19...53." John Luca responded, and Tanner began glaring at his class when people began clapping for Stefan. The bell rung immediately after, and Elodie rushed out, heading to her next class.

      When school finished, the weird feeling in Elodie's stomach had disappeared and she had virtually forgotten about the bathroom incident as she began stretching. Elodie frowned as she glanced up, listening to Tanner yell at Tyler from across the field. Her stomach flipped and she had to fight a smile when she found Stefan watching her from the bleachers—well, Elena was right next to her, so he was most likely watching his girlfriend.

      Elena had dropped the team at the end of last year, after everything happened with her parents. But with her—"I can't be a sad girl forever"—deceleration, she wanted to try out once more. She was in the middle, as Elodie stretched her middle splits, before falling to face her right leg.

      "Ellie," Bonnie snapped her fingers in front of Elodie's face, drawing the blonde from her head. "What are you doing tonight?"

      "Well, I think my parents finished proofing the house, so probably going home after work? Why?" Elodie glanced at the two of them as she switched to her left split.

      "Bonnie will only come to dinner if you come," Elena added as she began lunges to stretch.

      Elodie thought about it for a moment, glancing at the pleading look on Bonnie's face. "Fine, I have to come straight from work, but I'll be there."

      Bonnie and Elena both cheered. Elodie took this time to glance around them for the first time. Their coach was watching the football players practice—or really watching Tanner coach the players. Melody Grace had the largest crush on him, she was a fresh college graduate and cheered for Mystic Falls in high school as well.

      "Guys, where's Caroline?" Elodie narrowed her eyes, "she hasn't answered any calls or texts."

      "I don't know," Elena shrugged.

      Bonnie picked up her phone, "I'll try her again."

      She started typing in the phone number she knew by heart when the rev of an engine and the blast of music drew away everyone's attention. A blue camero was speeding through the schools back parking lot. The top was pulled down, which allowed the trio to immediately spot Caroline sitting in the passenger seat. She pressed a kiss to the drivers lips.

      "That must be the mystery guy from the Grill," Bonnie voiced Elodie's thoughts.

      Elena took a drink from her bottle, "that's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore."

      Elodie stood up, spinning to face the two brunettes, "Salvatore? As in Stefan's brother?"

      "That's the one," Elena nodded as Elodie spun back around to watch Caroline.

      The blonde closed the cars door, smirking as she floated towards the three girls. "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind."

      Elodie watched Damon as he pulled down his sunglasses to wink at the girls, but something in his expression shifted as she turned to the car and quickly pealed out of the parking lot. That's when she turned to face the cheer squad.

      "Sorry I'm late girls!" Caroline pulled off her sunglasses, "I, ugh, I was busy. Alright, let's start with a double pike herkie hurdler."

      Elena groaned as Elodie and Bonnie quickly began the tricks Caroline had requested of them. Elena's attention was clearly somewhere else, when halfway through the practice she stopped. "Is that, Stefan?"

      "Is he trying out?" Bonnie questioned, "did you know he was going to?"

      "Ladies! This is a practice, not social hour." Caroline scolded the two, before beginning the count off again.

      "God, I forgot how brutal she is as captain," Elena muttered as she began the movements again. But she was rusty, having not cheered for almost a year.

      She kept watching Elodie as she moved through the routine flawlessly. Her blonde hair bouncing softly in her ponytail as she jumped up and down. Something about Elodie seemed off though, and Elena couldn't see it but Bonnie could. A subtle golden glow that surrounded Elodie's form, the darker-skinned girl blinked, hoping the image would disappear but the glow didn't.

Elena tripped as she spun and Caroline clicked her tongue, "Elena, sweetie. Why don't you just observe today? Okay?"

Elena scoffed, but complied. Moving off the field as she sat by her bag, watching Elodie move through the routine like she had been the one training her entire life for this. Well, Elodie had. She had gone to cheer camps every summer from the time she could walk, she had just club cheer and was the reason her club made it to worlds three times in a row. She was also the reason why Mystic Falls had been runner up for the championship last year, she just didn't understand why Caroline was captain and not her.

Elodie choreographed each of the routines, taking into account each girls strengths and weaknesses. She made sure all of the girls knew their parts and the flyers could to the proper stunts. Elodie always made sure each girls knew their had a ride to and from practice—Bonnie and Elena even called her the cheer mom freshman year. And it just made sense. Elodie was comforting, she made all of the girls feel like they had a safe space.

When practice ended, Elodie was one of the last to leave, pestering Caroline incessantly over Damon. "Who was that?"

"My boyfriend?"

"And when were you going to tell me about that?"

Caroline scoffed, tossing a towel over her shoulder as she glanced back at Elodie, "why would I need to tell you?"

Elodie sucked in a breath, "I guess you don't. But, I mean Care we tell each other everything!"

"Well, maybe I need to change that." Caroline rolled her eyes, walking away from the shorter blonde quickly.

Elodie swallowed down the emotions she was feeling as she picked a ride up from Bonnie, who dropped her off at the shelter. Elodie moved through her rounds quickly. Checking on Star and the new bunnies before moving to the dogs where she quickly fed them before redesigning the new sign to sit on the front.

Cookie, one of the black and white labs had been adopted at the beginning of her shift, so she focused the board on that. Drawing a small doodle of Cookie before writing her had been adopted.

The rest of her shift moved like that, Elodie doing anything and everything to keep her mind off Stefan. Which she had succeeded on doing until she had locked up and began her shorter walk to Elena's home. She had half a mind to call off the entire dinner. Her legs and arms hurt from practice and she just wanted to go lay in her own bed—but apparently she couldn't even do that, as the security team hadn't finished bumping up their security. It wouldn't be done until Friday, unfortunately.

She should've gotten used to cars sneaking up on her, but Elodie still jumped when a car parked next to her. The tinted windows drawing a fear in her core until one of them rolled down and Stefan's face was revealed.

"You seem to be doing this a lot," Stefan spoke first.

"Says the one following me." Elodie remarked.

"This time I'm not following you, I'm going to Elena's."

Elodie nodded, "me too. And it's just up there so I don't need a ride."

Stefan turned off his car in an instant, jumping out and locking it before taking up Elodie's left side. Closer to the street as he smiled down at her, "I'll walk with you then. I need the exercise."

"You're on the football team, I'm pretty sure you got enough exercise earlier," Elodie smiled, but didn't protest about him walking with her.

"So you were watching me?"

"Your girlfriend was, but it seemed like you were doing well." She didn't know why she emphasized girlfriend so much, but the weird feeling in her stomach was back.

"Right, Elena." He spoke as they approached Elena's house, Elodie knocked on the door, holding out cookies to the brunette when she opened it.

Elodie hurried inside, desperately trying to escape Stefan and the weird thing her stomach did when she saw him. Bonnie greeted her with a smile and the two quickly finished setting up as Bonnie spoke.

"Things have been so weird," Bonnie spoke up, "like I keep seeing these numbers and god I think I'm going crazy."

"If it helps, I think I am too." Elodie shrugged, "like I'll look in the mirror and my eyes will be gold for just a split second but it's the weirdest thing ever, I swear."

Bonnie glanced at Elodie, noticing the golden aura around her again, "yeah. Pretty weird."

"We can be weird together, just you and me." Elodie smiled, trying to cheer the girl up.

"I like that."

☾☾☾ ☼ ☽☽☽

      THE REST OF ELODIE'S WEEK WENT exactly the same. School—where she would try and avoid Stefan as best she could—then practice, and then work. She couldn't stop thinking about the dinner she had on Monday. Caroline and Damon had shown up, and it became one of the most awkward things Elodie had ever attended. She had ended up fifth-wheeling the double date. Caroline had acted extremely weird, and her attitude had worsened around Damon. Damon had brought up Stefan's ex before Elodie had decided to call it quits, walking back to the hotel in the dark.

      Now it was Friday, and the first playoff meet of the season. Elodie was eluding confidence as she walked through the parking lot, her brother by her side. The two siblings dressed in their uniforms, Dalton glaring at every person who looked at Elodie the wrong way. He always protested about the cheer skirt since Elodie had joined, knowing that with her being thrown in the air would flash everyone.

      "God, can you pull it down even more?" Dalton protested after a student wolf-whistled at the girl.

      "Dalton, they're not doing anything wrong, it's a team uniform." Elodie nodded, "besides that could've been for anyone."

      The boy scoffed, "just pull it down a little."

      Elodie softly tugged the skirt down, before running off to meet Caroline and Bonnie. Both of the girls dressed in their uniforms.

      "God you look hot!" Caroline squealed as Elodie did a small twirl.

      Elodie laughed, "you look even hotter! Both of you!" Bonnie blushed as Caroline smirked, twirling just as Elodie had. "Where Elena?"

      "Oh haven't you heard," Caroline twirled a piece of hair around her finger, "she quit."

      Elodie frowned, even though she knew the brunette wouldn't have her entire heart in it she would miss cheering with her. "It's okay, I'm gonna go talk to Melody, make sure she got the memo so we can change the formations."

      "Make sure Dana's at the back!" Caroline shouted, laughing when the girl turned around to look at the blonde wide-eyed.

      Elodie swallowed harshly, wondering what exactly had gotten into her friend to make her act like this. She added it to her list of things she needed to talk to her about once the first game was done. She managed to catch Melody as she walked out of the cheer office, and the two spent the next forty minutes refiguring the layouts for each routine.

      Elodie had planned for anything, so she had extra layouts when any position were to get injured in any way. She just had to move around a few spots, but each girl was still doing everything they wanted. She thanked Melody before heading back out to the parking lot. The sun had set, and the team had set up a fire pit, the marching band surrounding one side as they played.

      Elodie stood with the rest of the team, her maroon cheer skirt and top blending in with the crowd as she cheered. Waving her pom-poms to the sky with a large smile. She always loved games, the energy filled her up and made her smile. The entire school had crowded in the parking lot, tailgating as they waited for Tanner to speak.

      He tried, but the cheers were too loud for him to talk over, and he spent a few moments trying to get the students to quiet before he could finally talk. "Wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us." The crowd began to boo, the cheer squad shaking their pom-poms high in the sky. "But that is about to change."

      "Formation six!" Caroline shouted over the crowds cheers. Elodie braced herself, allowing herself one second of fear before she stepped into her basket and allowed herself to fly. Kicking her leg in the hair she spun, landing tightly in her baskets arms before jumping down and waving her poms again with a large smile.

      Tanner continued his speech giving Stefan a special shout out. Elodie had noticed him during practice. He was getting better and better each day, so it was no surprise he was starting that game. And Tanner even believed that they were going to make it to the championship game this year.

      Caroline made sure each girl on the squad was cheering, smiles on their faces as they shook their hands high in the sky. The red and white flashing against the light of the fire.

      Tanners speech was interrupted with Vicky's yells and the sound of glass shattering. The student body turned and allowed herself began to crowd around the fight. Tyler was crouched above Jeremy, slamming his fist into his face over and over. Jeremy rolled him over with a grunt, gaining the upper hand.

      Elodie and Elena both pushed through the crowd, watching as each boy managed to land fair punches. Elodie winced at the violence, looking away.

      When Tyler gained the upper hand once more, Stefan pushed to the front. Grabbing the outstretched hand Tyler was punching with, he shouted. "Hey! He's down, enough."

      In his fit of rage, Tyler tried and failed to punch Stefan as Jeremy reached out and managed to grab a broken bottle neck from the grass. Stefan noticing the glass coming his way quickly pushed Tyler to the side, blocking the hit with his hand. The broken glass top sinking into his hand.

      Elena jumped in to help her brother as Vicky rushed to help Tyler. Elodie was the only one who ran after Stefan. The boy having walked away as soon as the fight ended.

      Elodie grabbed his arm, "Stefan, you need to wrap that before it gets infected."

      Stefan quickly pulled away from her, "it's fine. It's nothing."

      Elena jumped into the conversation, grabbing Stefan's hand to pull it towards her, "is it deep? How bad is it?"

      Elodie only stuck around long enough to notice that Stefan had no wound away more. The blood having disappeared and only the faintest of red lines remained on his palm. She rounded the corner of the building, sneaking through the crowd as her small lunch began to creep up her throat. She never liked violence.

      Maybe the hatred had stemmed from watching Tyler Lockwood shove Lucas Briar off the playground in second grade because the boy had cut him in line. Lucas ended up with a broken leg and Tyler had gotten away with a slap on the wrist due to his parents. The hatred might have also stemmed from watching her parents scream and shout at each other when Elodie's father had come back after a trip, she didn't know what the argument had been brought on by, but all she remembered was her father leave and not coming back for days at a time.

      She always tried to avoid violence and fights at all costs. They made her sick, but the cool touch of the bleachers had her sighing softly. Rickie found her a few minutes after, telling her Caroline was calling them all to the field. Elodie nodded, plastered a smile and tried to pretend like she wasn't going to vomit as soon as she stepped off the field.

      She noticed Bonnie and Elena talking and she steadied herself on the pyramid. She was placed at the top. It was shorter than normal as four girls readied themselves to hold the poster the players ran through. Elodie smiled, noticing that half of the team was still missing and Tanner was gone. She was taller than everyone else, so she was the first to see the unmistakable flashing lights of police cars. The sirens entering her ears a moment later.

      The pyramid quickly dismantled, Elodie stumbling down from the top as she abandoned her pom-pom's on the field as she and the rest of the team rushed to the parking lot. Elodie found Matt being questioned by the police as a gurney with a white sheet was loaded into the ambulance.

      One that drove away without their lights on.

      Elodie quickly began to look around. She had run in with her team but she couldn't find Stefan or Matt or Elena or. She met eyes with Bonnie, the girls hands beginning to shake. Elodie pushed down her fears, and ran over the girl, leading her to the side of the building away from the crime scene. She didn't know what happened but she knew that something was wrong with one of her friends. And her need to help overpowered her curiosity.

      She helped Bonnie sit down, keeping her legs straight and she rested against the wall. Elodie sat with her, holding one of the shaking hands softly. "Okay Bonnie, listen to me. I'm going to say a number, and I want you to squeeze my hand that many times, okay?"

      With the slightest nod of her head, Elodie began. "One," the faintest squeeze of her hand. Elodie smiled, "good. Three."

      Three squeezes.

      "Four." Bonnie repeated the number.

      "Two." Again.

      "Six."

      Elodie spoke the number five, and Bonnie squeezed five more times. By the end, her breathing had slowed and a quick check of her pulse told Elodie her heart had begun to return to a normal rhythm. Elodie kept her hold on Bonnie's hand, and Bonnie pulled away and wiped the sweat off her palms onto her thighs.

      "Elena's the only one who knows, but I've been having these weird visions." Bonnie started, her voice shook but she continued. "Of an eight, fourteen and twenty-two, I just thought it was a few meaningless numbers. But, when I got outside. Tanner was by building eight, the car is license plate number was a fourteen, and Tanner di-died in spot twenty-two. I-I don't know what's wrong with me, but something is happening and it all started with Stefan."

Elodie quickly pulled the girl into a hug, trying to console her before another panic attack began. A tight squeeze and Bonnie began crying into the girls arms. Elodie rubbed her back and kept her tight hands, even when she could hear her name being called by Dalton and her parents.

"Bonnie, you aren't crazy. I promise you that, it's just a lot of weird coincidences." Elodie spoke when the two separated. "But you can always talk to me about anything."

It was on the tip of her tongue. Bonnie desperately wanted to spill everything to Elodie. The weird feeling she got when she brushed Stefan's hand, the visions she had gotten when she touched Elodie. The sixth sense she had that allowed her to know where everything was. But something in her didn't allow her to say anything. Holding the words on her tongue Bonnie nodded as the two headed back to the front of the building.

Elodie heard from Caroline that it was Tanner who had been the one killed. No one knew how but it was apparently extremely bloody. Melody told the squad to head home, and Elodie found herself being scooping into Daltons arms.

"God, I tried to find you, and I couldn't," Dalton was stuttering over his words. "They weren't telling us who it was and—"

Elodie hugged her brother tighter, "Bonnie was panicking so I had to make sure she was okay. I'm okay, Dalton."

"God you little shit, scaring me to death."

Elodie smiled, laughing as the boy demanded she wear his jersey on the walk to his car. She wasn't cold but Dalton demanded it, so she complied. They arrived back at their home for the first time in a week. She smiled at her parents before mindlessly avoiding her bedroom, and climbing into the cold spare bed next to Daltons room.

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KENNEDY SPEAKS :

yall this chap is over 5000 words tf? i love
writing my people pleaser bc she is so me
coded and i can't wait for her to finally put
herself first. and the revenge arc for her and
damon is going to be a banger!!! :))))

yes i did keep in the damonxcaroline plot bc
it will progress the characters and everything, but
also i have things planned...
all of you guys are so amazing, thank you so much for the
love you have given this book. <3