𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

- - -
❝Wait a little longer
Then maybe you'll be ready now❞

Up All Night
~ Charlie Puth
- - -

"So you were born in Mystic Falls?"

The Caroline Forbes Inquisition has no effect on Stefan as he takes his eyes off Elena for one second to answer "Yes, and moved when I was still young" and then he swivels back to not-so-awkwardly stare at Elena.

The Mystic Grill bustles around them, the girls who weren't allowed to talk by Caroline walking by with thirsty stares. The boys, namely Tyler and Matt were trying not to send glares their way as they played pool.

Kat clears her throat, her eyes narrowed, as she asks "Parents?"

He's quiet for a minute as he murmurs "They, uh, passed away" Kat's heart stiffens at the way he says it. Not pity, but the prospect of sharing the common burden of losing parents. "I'm sorry..."

The other Gilbert twin tries to catch his attention as she leans forward "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to" this makes Elena nod blindly and Kat frown. Who the heck talks to their siblings? She'd just demand or twist Jeremy's ear if she wants anything. Talk - no. Holler and throw a fit - absolutely.

"I live with my uncle" he shrugs it off, looking at Kat's face, misunderstanding her frown for doubt.

"Uncle Zach?"

"Uh, yea... You know him?"

"Yea... He used to drop by a few times" Zach Salvatore was one of the Council members. He was the one who gave the founding families their vervain. Don't know where he got it from, but he taught her how to grow the leaves after her parents died.

"So, Stefan!" Caroline shows all her pearly whites - if there's one thing Caroline was afraid of, it was having her inquisition manipulated by petty cross-talk. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow!"

Kat takes in a deep breath to calm herself. The Falls party.

The last time she went to a party like that, it caused her parents' death.

"It's a back to school thing at the falls" Bonnie explains with lesser enthusiasm, having caught on to the muddled feelings of the Gilbert sisters.

"Are you going?" Stefan asks. Bonnie nudges Kat in the waist, eliciting a grunt "Ow! Bon-"

"Of course she is" Bonnie speaks to Stefan. The elder Gilbert frowns confusedly, she looks to her sister and then Bonnie and Caroline. "Me?" she points at herself. He nods his head with a sheepish smile.

Elena might as well have steam rolling out her ears, and Caroline was sombrely watching Kat for her expression.

"Yea, y-yea!" Kat tries to push words out of her mouth "Of course I'll be there, I mean, yes, absolutely, I love bonfires and the Falls? O hell yeah I'm coming. Yeah... I'm coming" she smiles sheepishly, pulling her hat lower onto her shaking head.

"I'm sorry about yesterday... I-uh, tend to ramble a lot..." Kat apologises the next day in school, with an excusing smile as she takes a hold of all her books. Stefan waves it off "Nah, it's alright, it feels good to have a friend who likes to talk"

This makes Kat chuckle amusedly "I'm your friend? What makes you think I can be your friend?" Stefan snatches her felt hat "This. This Gatsby hat right here makes me your best friend"

"You know" she chuckles "You're kind of the only one who recognised this... So I guess I can... be your friend"

Her inner happy alter-ego hums at the achievement for herself, while the cynic of her brain catches the look Stefan was trying not to send to her twin sister. Across the hall, Elena was ignoring Bonnie's rambles and finding her eyes drifting towards the Salvatore beside Kat.

"She doesn't like grand gestures and don't talk about the 5th grade summer"

Stefan snaps his head towards Kat with confusion written on his face "What?"

"Elena" Kat clarifies "You clearly like her. So I was giving you a heads-up"

"Huh? Oh, um, no! I don't- Ele- No, it's- no" he forcefully helps her books into the locker with a violently shaking head.

"Kat!" Caroline sprints to the elder Gilbert when she notices whom she was talking to "Oh hi there"

Stefan waves lightly before Kat locks her locker "Coming Care, I was just... giving Salvatore here a some tips" she winks to hide the sticky ugly stirring in her chest "And beware, my sister's the jealous one, good luck new friend" she winks and walks off with Caroline hopping beside her.

"Why were you talking about Elena instead of smooching him?" Caroline pulls Kat into the next corner, throwing an unsusceptible smile to all passer-by's.

Caroline wasn't blind, she knew Elena had her eyes out for Stefan. And well, so did she herself. But Kat's easiness with Stefan Salvatore had bothered her. It took a long time for Kat to get over Tyler so Care was always wary when it came to her friend showing interest in someone, especially 3 months after her parents' accident. And Stefan was eye-fucking Elena to no one's surprise. That didn't help the elder Gilbert's twin-esteem.

"He likes Elena" Kat points glumly, her expression totally different from the happy-indifferent smile she had given to Stefan.

"So go get him!" Caroline urges with claps "You saw him first anyway! It's twin code! Honestly, if you don't get him, I'm calling dibs"

The bell rings, prompting a deluge of unwilling teens towards the classrooms. They see Elena beginning an animated conversation with Stefan as they entered the Trig class. Kat gazes in unknown happiness as she watches her sister smile without guilt or grief. She wonders how it feels to finally experience that lightness after all this while.

Caroline follows her line of sight to take in what Kat meant. It was Elena.

Nothing was more important to Kat than helping Elena get back to normal. Something that Stefan seemed to do without any help.

"Maybe he has a brother we could keep" the blonde mutters, dragging Kat towards AP English.

"...The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Mr. Tanner's beady eyes turn to Bonnie, sitting beside a bored Kat. She was trying not to look back at her sister ogling Stefan.

Everyone else in the class was either yawning or browsing their phones under their desks. History was something everyone in Kat's circle seemed to despise. And it didn't take a genius to figure out that Mr. Tanner was the reason for the repulsion.

"Um...a lot of casualties?" Bonnie clicks her pen with a roll of her eyes in answer to the teacher "I'm not sure...? Like a whole lot"

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett... Mr. Donovan?" he drags out the words - demanding attention "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?" he walks back to his table and takes hold of the duster, as if angry enough to chuck it at Matt's face.

"It's okay Mr. Tanner" the said jock cracks a small smile "I'm cool with it"

Not having anyone else to stereotype, the History teacher turns to the younger Gilbert twin "Hmm, Elena...! Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?" he asks, knowing she won't know the answer.

That's what you call sadism in school.

Elena finally comes out of Salvatoreland as she gazes around with a sorry eye "I, I'm sorry... I don't know".

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena" he narrows his eyes mockingly "But the personal excuses ended-"

Glaring, Kat speaks above his voice "346 casualties" and at the same time Stefan answers "There were 346 casualties.... Unless you're counting local civilians" Every eye in the class swivels to Stefan.

They didn't bother questioning how Kat knew the exact answer. They were used to the busy scrawl of her pen and her bored gaze at her manicured nails - the only two looks of the elder Gilbert in Tanner's History class.

"That's... correct" Tanner's eyes flit from a smug Kat to Stefan "That's right, Mister...?"

"Salvatore"

"Salvatore" Tanner nods at the familiar name "Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?" Stefan shrugs "Distant" Tanner goes back to the board, not really finding any insult in the correct answer.

But apparently not. Smugly, the teacher turns behind "Except... There were no civilian casualties in this battle-"

"Actually sir" Kat props up her elbow on the desk cluttered with small notes "There were 27 casualties" Stefan nods with a solemn smile "Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss"

"The founder's archives" Kat perks up with a smile that would appear sincere to anyone passing by the class outside "...are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner" the bell rings over the scoffs and chuckles of the rest of the class.

"My feet are killing me" Kat groans, as she tries not to slide off from the smooth wooden bars of the gazebo. Bonnie chuckles "That's what you get for walking to the woods in heeled boots"

Kat looks to her feet and back at Bonnie "Next time I make a stupid choice like wearing heeled anything to woods, slap me hard in the face okay?" Elena and Bonnie chuckle at her pout. "So... Stefan's got your eye huh?" Kat nudges her sister in the waist with a knowing smile.

Elena's strained nervousness dissolves into something more normal. She had expected Kat to be wound up or quiet, given what happened the last time they were in the woods. Little did she know that her twin was trying to lighten the mood for her sake.

"Uh, no, I mean, he's okay, I guess" Elena tries to hide her blush.

"'Lena..." her twin starts with an educative frown "If you call that kinda Vogue-model-looks okay, you're insane, I mean, I'm not even drunk and I can admit that my new friend's awfully easy on the eyes"

Bonnie offers Elena another beer "Oh come on! Admit it 'Lena!" she rolls her eyes with a happy smile creeping up her cheeks "Okay! Okay... He's a little pretty" Bonnie extends another beer towards Kat but she waves it off, she wasn't drinking tonight, not at the Falls, not at this party.

Caroline was supposed to be with her to stop the drinking, but Kat couldn't let the girl not enjoy herself at a party just because she was busy tagging by her best friend. Caroline liked to haze boys, get drunk as a skunk and hold a hot cup of coffee to her head the night after.

"He has that romance novel stare" Bonnie giggles dramatically "Stefan stared at Elena, piercing her very soul"

"Where is he anyway? Where's your Romeo?"

Elena shrugs at Bonnie's question "I don't know... You tell me, you're the psychic one" Bonnie had a hippie grandmother - Sheila Bennett - who loved the bottom of a whiskey bottle and the concept of witches. The latest imaginary concoction of the Grams was that Bonnie was psychic.

Not taken aback by Elena's mocking, the Bennett girl nods with a 'I know what you're doing there' smirk "Right, Grams says I have to concentrate" she starts to close her eyes when Kat stops her "Wait! You need a crystal ball... Um... There" she picks up a discarded beer bottle and holds it out to their friend with a silly flourish.

Scoffing, Bonnie holds the neck of the bottle but the tip of her fingers brush against Kat's. Creeping the girls out, Bonnie's eyes widen for many breaths after which, finally, she lets the bottle slip to the ground, freeing Kat's hand. "That was weird... Did you guys see that?"

"Um, see what Bon?" Kat frowns. "When I touched you... It was weird - I saw you... a, a man, and fog, did you scream right now?" she rambles breathily. Panicking, Kat pulls her arms over Bonnie's shoulders, "It's the drinks speaking... Nothing else, she's messing around, see ya 'Lena!" she leads Bonnie to a nearby rock.

"Hey Bonnie? Are you alright?"

She nods, putting up a smile "Sorry, I'm drunk..."

Though not completely convinced, Kat nods understandingly. She digs into her small clutch, holding out a small vervain stem, carefully holding the herb by her nails "Here, the smell helps clear the mind..."

Bonnie laughs "Katherine Violet Gilbert! Have you finally entered my Gram's club!" Kat frowns gently, pasting a smile on nonetheless "There's nothing wrong with Gram's club, anyway... Just keep this with you, in your pocket, anywhere, helps cleanse off the bad aura" she wiggles in a ghost voice.

Bonnie goes off in search of another beer, fortunately with vervain in her jacket pocket. Kat sighs, settling down on the rock with a racing mind. Bonnie was acting weird and from what Zach told her, people under vampire influence can act like that. But there aren't any vampires in town, for all she knows, they might even be a myth. Maybe Zach is just a lonely man who takes part in the supernatural-believing Council.

Just to satisfy her curiosity, she looks around with focused eyes, taking off her denim cap. Everyone here is someone she knew her whole life.

Except Stefan, her mind chides her. Her heart thuds but backs up once again.

He walks in sunlight. And he's Zach's nephew. Zach Salvatore, the one who's madly against vampires. But some dark corner of her mind wasn't having it. Stefan was the new guy, he was closed off to most, only talking to Kat and then to Elena unless people forced him to interact. He had fabulous hair, although that was probably just the girl in Kat saying that.

The Gilbert takes a deep breath, placating herself for even thinking Stefan was a vampire. They're myths. And the Council's just a group of madmen. But her father and uncle-

"And it finally comes off" she hears a voice behind her. She jumps up with a screech "Fuck!"

"Hey hey!' Stefan laughs, hands raised in surrender "Not a serial killer, easy" Kat's panic dissolves into a series of hysterical giggles as she hits his shoulder lightly "Don't sneak up on girls, they know karate"

He pauses for a minute and then starts chuckling. And then laughing hard. "Hey! Why are you laughing? I wasn't kidding! I really kno- Stop! Laughing!" she smacks his shoulder again, enunciating each word with a placating gesture. He bends down, catching his breath.

"Ok... I-I'm so-" he starts laughing again. Kat frowns and sits cross-legged on the rock, back to Stefan laughing his guts out. An embarrassing eternity later, he breathes out, laugh-free "I'm sor - I'm sorry... It just... that sounded so much like Lex - never mind" He sighs, sitting on the ground beside her, careful to maintain several inches gap between them as they sink back into silence.

The party was in full swing, every teen had let loose and either drinking cheap beer or dry-humping hot guys and girls.

"You know you should mingle... Mr. Mysterious Broody New Guy" Kat teases, declining his offer for beer. He looks into his cup with a broodier face

"You know, you guys have the brooding thing going on too... twinged in sadness"

Kat frowns at his words. He's the first one in months who had directly said the word. Kat Gilbert was the responsible one. She let others walk over her if it meant she got to see them happy. But the one night she left that girl behind, was the one night her parents were put in death's way because of her.

"What makes you think I'm sad. I'm not sad" she mumbles, snatching off an unopened pack of peanuts from the nearby table. She hated nuts, but she needed to occupy herself with something other than talking about her feelings.

Stefan hums in baseless agreement "What happened?"

Kat scoffs, avoiding his eyes "It's not exactly party chit-chat". He nods in understanding, "How about we take a walk? I've heard that the Falls are amazing"

"You never give up do you? Why do even want to know?" she boosts up and walks carefully over pebbles and grass. They reach the bridge near the Falls, taking her time to walk to the main attraction of the town despite its thoroughly clingy people or animal attacks. "So..." she starts, "Last spring... My parents' car drove off of the Wickery bridge into the lake. Elena and I were in the backseat and we survived, but...they didn't. The last thing I remember before waking up, is someone rescuing us... There, it's out, now why did you want to know?"

He shoves his fingers into pockets with a shrug "That's what friends do, I've heard. Let you talk. Make you talk... Did I do it right?"

The girl cracks a small smile, clutching the rope of the narrow bridge with an unknowingly light feeling in her heart "Somewhat"

"Hey..." Elena walks up to them with a sheepish smile, a beer cup in hand. Kat pats her sister with a genuine smile "I'll get going... You know, Stefan?" she looks at him with a twinkle in her jade eyes "You should totally take Elena to see the Falls, I've heard they're fan-tastic... Uhmm" she winks at her sister and walks off steadily.

Kat is chatting with Bonnie, a broody Matt and a drunk-giggly Caroline when she sees a familiar figure stagger into the woods "Oh God Jeremy!" she tries to rush behind him. He isn't even supposed to be here, and certainly not drunk.

"You want me to help?" Matt shouts over the din of other drunk teenagers. "I got this, thanks Matt"

"Hey Jeremy!" she shouts louder, careful not to trip over any rocks in the dark. The forest around her hums and chirps, moving goosebumps up her spine. "Jeremy?" she calls out once again, seeing her brother walk just a few feet ahead of her but ignore her as if she's a ghost.

"I don't want to hear it!"

"Oh so you do hear me huh? Shoc - Jeremy!" she shouts once again but not in placation, but because he stumbles on something, crashing down to earth. "Jeremy are you al-" the rest of her words morph into a scream.

Vicki Donovan. Lying on the ground with only the faint rise and fall of her chest to indicate that she's alive. "Oh my God Vicki! No, no, no... Vicki!" Jeremy and Kat gently slap her cheeks and check her pulse. "Jeremy we need to get her to the hospital"

Swallowing a sob, he picks her up and rushes out into the clearing, where everyone halts in their tracks at Kat's screams for help. They set Vicki on the nearest table, Matt and Tyler being among the first ones to appear. Kat gasps on adrenaline as she feels the fallen girl's wet neck. Blood.

"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood! Somebody call an ambulance!" Kat shouts to the crowd of looming people. Tyler pushes back a lot of them "Give her some air! Back up!"

Elena and the girls stand back, tense and completely clueless of what they could do to help.

The panicking elder Gilbert looks on her for some cloth that could stop the bleeding. Not really thinking of the cold, she rips off her sweater and puts it against Vicki's neck "Vicki! Can you hear me? Vicki?" she keeps nudging her cheeks and checks the eyes. "What's taking them so long, her eyes are getting unresponsive!"

As if on cue, medics rush up with a stretcher, shouting for the teenagers to get back. They place her on the stretcher, assuring Matt that his sister will be okay. They both follow the stretcher with rushed steps. Just as they push Vicki inside the ambulance, Kat's eyes flit across the crowd to see people looking at each other in panic. But that's not what catches her momentary eye... Stefan Salvatore stands there, a haunted look shadowing his face. Looking at her for one second, her new friend runs away into the other direction.

Shaking her head with a trembling frown, Kat quickly gets into the van after Matt, assuring him every second of the way.

A day ago, she was sitting in the Mystic Grill, momentarily jealous of Tyler and Vicki of all people. And now she was crouching in the ambulance with Matt, holding the hand of a mauled Vicki as realisation hits her.

Vicki was bitten in the neck, in the dark of the forest.

𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫
Oh potato potahto tomato tomahto!
Baby Kat and Care wish for another piece of Salvatore arm candy.
A certain someone in a leather jacket: 🏃💨