V.     What A Biting Party

  THE PARTY HAD ALREADY BEEN in full commencement by the time Bianca had drove her car up the soil ridden hills that made up the network of the Falls. The flicker of orange light illuminated through the darkness, providing some useful light that the already drunken assortment of teenagers circling near it were desperately needing. Music blared from the portable stereos lining any available surface, whether the back of someone's truck or the benches of the gazebo. Everything about the setting rang true of a teenage party- the assortment of half drank solo cups littering the ground, kegs of beer racked up near the side, heavy and exaggerated displays of affection (if swallowing someone's soul could be called that).

      Once she had put her car in park, her eyes caught on to a figure hurrying towards her. "Aw, were you waiting on little ol' me? I am the life of the party."

      Antonio let out a snort, not bothering to fight the roll of his eyes as he made his way over to the Amorettee teen's beat up car. "Oh yes, the lord and savior of parties, Bianca Amorettee is finally here! Her presence is such blessing."

      Bianca pouted. "I'm sensing some sarcasm in your voice, these prayers don't sound genuine. Just for that," she reached into the backseat and gathered the two boxes of recently made pastries, waving them across the Lockwood boy's face so that the aroma would soon register. "you aren't getting any cinnamon rolls."

      Brown eyes widened, following the cardboard box as Bianca brushed past him. "Hey, hey, wait, that's not fair. It was my idea that you should make them in the first place. Doesn't that mean I get, like, a share of the profit?"

      "But I baked these myself."

      "And I gave you the idea. Seems fair."

      Bianca snorted. "Seems like you're profiting off my unpaid labor."

      It didn't take long for the rest of their friends to surround them, each with eagerness to sink their teeth into the soft dough texture. If there were a few things each member of the group was known for, Bianca, by far, carried the title of the baker. Adopting the trait near the middle of her middle school year, the hobby had quickly taken off and long since had gained a following. Whether it was suggestions for a platter of chocolate chip cookies to a double layered vanilla cream cake, suggestions were always near.

      "At least I know I never have to stray to far away to find some taste testers." Bianca pointed to where Antonio and Elena stood, only a fraction away from wolfing down the pastry without much concern for frosting slowly beginning to coat their faces. "I always have you two slobs."

      Both brunette teens paused their movements, brown eyes similar to that of a doe narrowed in offense. "Hey," they both said in unison, but it was hard to be intimated by someone when their chin was painted in crumbs.

      Before the two could break off even more into further bickering, Bonnie had quickly stepped in and directed the path of conversation. "Though Bianca may have point, Elena. Besides, we wouldn't want a certain someone's first Mystic High party to be met with cinnamon roll frosting face."

      As if realization had flooded through her system, the Gilbert teen shyly searched for a towelette and began to wipe away at all the remnants lathering her chin. It seemed as if a unanimous understanding was held between the trio, Bianca especially as she couldn't withhold her expression of disinterest. Antonio, however, was not so fortunate.

      "Okay, who are we talking about?"

      "Stefan Salvatore," Bianca muttered, earning a soft "oh" in response.

      "We invited him to come tonight, considering moving back here and all," Elena explained. "It seemed like the right thing to do, and gives us enough time to introduce ourselves to him."

      Antonio nodded. "But hopefully he catches your vibes, and an eventual date will be on the table?" This comment received him a swift slap to the chest, but the reaction didn't deter the Lockwood boy's laughter.

      "But who knows," Bonnie shrugged nonchalantly, but the tone of her voice gave evidence to the factor of her playing into the teasing. "Maybe it could end up happening."

      "Bonnie!" The Gilbert girl nearly squealed. Softly shaking her head, she shifted her attention to Bianca, her gaze hopeful as she nodded towards the pastries boxed at her side. "Maybe Stefan would like to try some, we should leave him some."

      Bianca blinked. "I only made these for us." She let out a sharp grunt when Antonio swiftly sent his foot into her heel. "What? It's true! Besides, I don't even know if he has allergies or not, I am not going to be responsible for someone going to the hospital."

      "If he's allergic to anything, he could just tell you."

      "What if he doesn't know?"

      Antonio hummed. "Well, then at least you'll be the one to help him figure it out. Medical mystery solved. But death by cinnamon rolls would be a sad way to go."

      "People would think I poisoned him." The Amorettee teen mumbled, mind running over the idea without much...distain.

      "Maybe it would be because they can see that you don't like him." Elena added, sending her friend a point look when she didn't even bother to deny it. "Bianca, he's been nothing but kind towards us. What reason do you have to not like him?" It wasn't necessarily uncommon for Bianca to have a walls built up when it came to people, especially those newly entering her life. The gang had grown used it, especially following after her mother's disappearance, but her reaction towards Stefan was slightly alarming as she had never been so annoyed with someone's prescence that the meer mention of their name had practically set her off.

      "What reason do I have to do?" At the look her comment received, she sighed and quickly changed her tone. Tonight she was in no such mood to garner any slighted feelings as a result of her inability to communicate. "Sorry, I'm being...harsh. But it's just something about him, I can't explain it, but it just rubs me the wrong way. And maybe, who knows, I could be wrong and he ends up being a great guy- for you especially- but until then, I'm keeping a guard up."

      "Careful, Elena, pretty boy might not make it past the Amorettee protection services."

      Elena sighed, shaking her head. "This isn't about whether or not a date happens, but that we try to make him feel welcome."

      Bonnie raised a brow. "Just admit it, Elena. You find him pretty."

The Gilbert girl casted her friend a look, but at this point there no longer any point in denial. "Okay, so he's a little pretty."

      "He has a romance novel stare."

      "Or more so like the creepy lurker in the shadows." Bianca whispered into Antonio's ear, receiving a snort. Upon hearing footsteps advancing towards them, the Latino boy lifted his in the direction of his sister who bore a scowl over her face.

      "Tyler is such an asshole!" She practically snarled, marching over to the group with her nostrils flared. Taking note of the solo cup in her brother's hands, she quickly swipped the liquid filled plastic and drowned half of it in one go, ignoring her sibling's protest.

      "What did he do this time?" Bianca asked. It wasn't much of a secret that Lockwood family had their own spiel of drama, from Antonio and Callie being taken in by their uncle when their father suddenly dropped them off at his doorstep, to said uncle residing around town with a massive chip on his shoulder, one that seemed to have passed down to his son, Tyler, who wasn't one necessarily known for his soft side. Antonio and Callie could attest to that with how many arguments the cousins got into.

      "Nothing worth bothering to repeat, but let's just say if I ever have to see him and Vicki Donavon make out against the side of my car again, I will loose it."

      Antonio blanched in disgust. "Please don't give me that mental image, especially after I just got finished eating."

      As the two Lockwood siblings fell into conversation, Antonio was swiftly swept away into his sister's grasp when she caught on to sudden blur of hair breezing past them. Something along the lines of introducing her brother to them, the younger boy held little choice in the matter and was soon pulled away from the trio.

      "Anyway," Bonnie said, continuing with their previous conversation. Her eyes scanned the crowd, lips pursed as she tried to spot the familiar quiff hairs of the Salvatore boy. "Speaking of Stefan, where is he?"

      Elena glanced around briefly. "I don't know. You tell me, you're the psychic one."

      Bianca furrowed her brows with interest as Bonnie brought up the mention of needing a crystal ball. "What's going on?"

      Elena began to explain the story of Bonnie's grandmother, Sheila Bennett, informing the youngest Bennett of possible magical abilities that run in her bloodline, apparently making her a psychic. As the Gilbert girl reached for something to mimic the feel of a crystal ball, Bianca slowly cut her gaze toward Bonnie.

      "A psychic?" She asked, tongue running over the words as Bonnie shrugged bashfully.

      "If you ask me, my Grams has been hitting the liquor a few too many times." Unaware of Bianca's hesitation, the Bennett girl stretched out her hand towards the glass bottle resting in Elena's hand.

      A choked gasp rattled up the base of Bonnie's throat, slipping between her lips and startling the two girls before her. Elena peered curiously, brows furrowed at the wide-eyed stare Bonnie had given her as she jerked her hand away from the bottle. Bianca could only watch silently, staring intently at the shorter girl.

      "What?" Elena asked after a moment.

      Bonnie blinked rapidly. "That was weird." She said out loud, but it sounded as if it were more for herself. "When I touched you, I saw a crow."

      This piqued Elena's interest.

      "A crow," Bonnie repeated. "And fog. And a man..." her statement trailed off when she took note of the Gilbert girl's slightly panicked expression. Waving it off, Bonnie drew the beer bottle from her hands. "I'm drunk, that's all. Nothing psychic here. Off for a refill."

      Ignoring the brunette's calls, Bianca watched as the Bennett girl hurried her way through the crowd. Before Elena could ask any further questions, the Amorettee teen sent her a hurried look. "I'll go check on her."

      An unconscious aura pulled her through the mass of bodies, directing her path through the darkness even when there should have been moments of uncertainty where she couldn't see. Bonnie's familiar silhouette made way under the soft light of the flames, half of her face illuminated in the process. Bianca took note of the distance clouding her eyes, the skin between her brows pinched in a mask of confusion.

      A sense of desired distraction radiated off the Bennett girl in waves, plastering against Bianca's skin as she placed herself at the shorter girl's side.

      "You know, my mom used to joke that, in the Amorettee family, seeing the future was basically a right of passage."

      This caused Bonnie to release a snort, glancing up at the taller girl in disbelief. "Really?"

      Bianca nodded, spinning on her heel until she could comfortably rest her back on the bark of a nearby tree. With a hum, she said, "Yeah, something about it being such a common thing in the family that she'd be surprised if I didn't get it too."

      "Really?" Bonnie questioned as Bianca nodded, eyes growing slightly distant as her hand hesitantly drew over the glass of a beer bottle before opting for the plastic frame of a red cup. The motion did not go unnoticed by the Amorettee teen. "Who knows? Maybe you already do."

      Reaching for the bottle, Bianca stared down at the liquid as it swirled within the container. She had waved off Bonnie's raised brow as, before the event, the Amorettee teen had been adamant about refraining from drinking more than two drinks during the duration of the night. Bianca waved her hand is dismissal, showing she had no intention of drinking the beverage as she tossed it around back and forth between her palms.

      "Probably. I mean, I haven't foreseen any of my favorite bands breaking up so far. I think if I ever envision the end of Paramore I might just die." Bianca sighed, eyes growing wide with terror at the mere idea, an action that made Bonnie playfully roll her eyes with the shake of her head.

      "I think if that were to happen then we'd have to plan a double funeral because the end of Paramore would be the end of Antonio too."

      Bianca nodded in agreement. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from a man of taste." Placing the beer back in its original place, Bianca gently threw her shoulder into Bonnie's side, swaying back in faux innocence. "But could you imagine it? You and me, the town psychics of Mystic Falls?"

      Bonnie let out an incredulous sound, practically snorting into her drink. "Yeah, the town freaks more like it. Everyone would either come crawling and begging us to read their future, or run for the hills as soon as they saw us." Though her statement originated as a joke, it was easy to read the evident disdain in her tone.

      Bianca stood quietly for a moment, eyes gazing down at her shoes before opening her mouth with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "At least we'd endure it together. So neither of us had to go through it alone."

      The Bennett girl drew her chin over her shoulder, peering at the taller teen with slight startlement and genuine curiosity at the words but, mainly, with a gratitude that ached so foreignly in her bones that it crept its way into her heart and bloomed from its chambers.

      Before either girl could say anything, a cry for help had resounded over the pool of teens, ripping through the warming haze of ease and relaxed states of mind and grasping it by the throat. The plea was so alarmed and frightened, Bianca could feel it tear through her muscles. Her ears itched at the sound, picking up the familiar pitch in her voice and drawing recognition within her brain.

      Elena.

      The two girls hurried through the forming crowd of those eager to see what the cause for concern was about. As they broke free into the opening, it was easy to see why. The Gilbert siblings, Elena and her younger brother Jeremy stumbled upon the party. Their faces were masked with adrenaline fused urgency and panic, eyes bouncing off every face before them until they could cling to one's familiarity. What incited a gasp was the lip body dangling from Jeremy's arms. Vicki Donavon lay motionless as she was carried to the forefront, her hair blowing in the wind from the drooped incline of her head, bearing way to the disarray that was her neck.

      Suble skin gave way to tattered concaves of flesh as a large circular incision scarred the base of her neck. Blood dripped down almost motionlessly until it seeped into her shirt collar. If one were to stare close enough, the piercing marks similar to that of teeth would be visible to spot.

      Bianca couldn't help but feel the cold shiver pooling down the base of her neck and clinging to her spine, racing down the bone and rendering immobile as all she could do was watch as her friends crowded around the unconscious Donavon girl, moving sporadically as they ventured from demanding assistance to trying to obtain some grasp of the situation.

      "You knew," a voice whispered in her mind. "You knew this would happen."

      Bianca shook her head, brows narrowing in disbelief as she stared at the scene before her. It wasn't supposed to be- it shouldn't have been real. Nothing from that crumpled up drawing resting in the trash of a high school classroom should have entered into the world.

      But it had.

      As Bianca thought back to her conversation with her father, the topic of her mother, and the revelation of her past and use of abilities, her brown eyes locked on to the tense figure of Stefan Salvatore. His mouth was agape and his expression twisted into a form of familiar horror that had a fire pooling in Bianca's gut as she watched him pull away, disappearing farther and farther into the crowd before vanishing from sight.