VI.        The Comet.

       BIANCA WAS CERTAIN that she had broken a variety of traffic laws tonight as she sped through the darkness blanketed streets of Mystic Falls. Her beat up car was surely taking more than it had asked for, but the panic in her chest had caused more concern than the groans coming off the metallic carriage. The neighborhood was quiet, save for the dull orchestra performed by the crickets hidden in the bush, but as Bianca sent her vehicle into a screeching halt amid her parking in her home's driving, a complete silence had overcame the air.

       A part of her had winced at the loud sound, nervously tearing at her lip in thought to the fright it had possibly sent her neighbors, but even more so the reaction that might of arose from her father as she took note of the faint glow bleeding through the windows.

       Kenny Amorettee stood in the foyer of the house, eyes alarmed as Bianca practically threw the front door open with a force. When her eyes locked with his, it was evident to read the intensity radiating from them and the message behind it. "Bianca-" He began sternly, moving unconsciously as he crossed over the distance. Before he could make it half way, Bianca had slammed into his chest, face nearly buried in the muscular frame of his shoulder. He frowned in surprise at the action, even more so when his ears caught note of a series of mumbles. "Bianca, I need you to talk to me."

       "It was true," she whispered simply, gaze staring listlessly into the distance. "It was true."

       "What was? Bianca, I need you to speak clearly-"

       "My drawing, the one I made in history class," she pulled away slightly, still keeping her frame within arm's reach as she stared up at the taller man. "Tonight, all through the party, I tried to ignore what you had told me about mom and her powers. What they meant. I didn't think of it as anything more than....but tonight, someone was attacked. The same person and in the same manner as my drawing."

       Kenny raised his hands, grasping his daughter's cheeks firmly as he scanned her from head to toe. "Are you all right? Were you hurt in any way at all?" When he received a shake of the head, he continued. "What about your other friends? Antonio or-"

       "I wouldn't have raced home so quickly if that were the case," Bianca said, stopping her father mid-rant. "It was Vicki. Vicki Donavon. She was taken by an ambulance and Matt went along with her. Bonnie said she would call me if they heard any news."

       Kenny sighed deeply, a fragment of relief burrowing in his chest at the knowledge that his daughter and her friends had been safe. But that didn't bring any sense of calmness over him as Bianca remained on edge. Taking note of her hesitancy, he spoke. "What is it?"

       Bianca began wringing her hands, flexing the bones every now and again as she turned on her heel, pacing across the wooden the floor as she raked through her mind over the best ways to piece the words together. A few days ago, a new student enrolled in school."

       "Enrolled? But it's the middle of the year, how..."

       "That's what I thought," Bianca continued. "But we had ran into each other and, when I touched him, I got this cold and...dark feeling run over me. Like something inside of me was fighting to get out and, if I let it, everything around me would be in chaos. And when I looked at him, all I could see..." She licked her lips, swallowing the bile in her throat just as quickly as it appeared. "His eyes were black and had veins growing underneath his cheeks. And his mouth was dripping with blood, especially from his fangs."

       A tension had seeped into the elder Amorettee's body, his jaw clenched under the weight of familiarity with the terms being spoken, more than he was comfortable with. "Bianca-"

       "And I had to be sure, because how can present any sort of case without evidence? So I started studying him. He's brilliant in history, performing on the same bar as me without having to extract any effort. Recalling the dates and events like the recent episodes of a show. He has family connections here, connections to the founders, but hasn't been here since childhood---military family excuse. And, when Vicki was found and we were trying help the best we could, I saw him backing away into the crowd." Her expression tightened. "He looked as if something was coming back to haunt him."

       There was a quiet over the pair as they stood before one another. Kenny stood silent, his hands in the pockets of his slacks as eyes reflected networks of gears shifting. Raising his chin, he regarded his daughter. "So, it would seem that Mystic Falls has found itself at the acquaintance of..."

       "A vampire." Bianca finished firmly, hiding her quivering hands under the fabric of her clothing. Tonight would mark the third of a supernatural revelation to befall the Amorettee household.

       But it certainly wouldn't be the last.

       CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE father and daughter pair had nearly carried on well into the dawn, had Kenny not adamantly announced its halt and sent her off to bed just before the clock could strike midnight. However, sleep had been the last thing on the Amorettee teen's mind as she raked over theories and questions that her brain spurred into existence, fingers itching for something there but so far out of reach.

       Her father had been insistent that she stay away from Stefan as much as possible, but when she had remarked that due to the nature of his infatuation with Elena, and her's in return, it seemed unlikely to do so, he had suggested she try to bar some distance between them without drawing attention. Kenny was not fond of the idea of a vampire anywhere near her, especially not after that night, but he also knew the troubles that could arise if the Salvatore boy had become aware that someone knew of his secret.

       Neither had exactly any proof if he had been responsible for the uptick in murders within the town, but that didn't mean he was in the clear.

       Even as the next few came and went, the feeling that washed over her the more and more she thought about Stefan, that night at the Falls, and her stupid powers.

       Maybe there was a reason her parents kept them secret for so long.

       It did nothing to ease her nerves when her thoughts trailed back to the big event soon to be passing through the sky, residents drawing from all over to come together in the town's square to watch as a once-in-a-lifetime comet flew overhead. Bianca had always found a home in the stars, seeking them out even in her childhood, nimble hands struggling to hold together a telescope as she searched the night sky until her parents offered to assist her.

       A part of her would have wanted to find enjoyment in this moment, especially since weeks ago the mere thought had sent her running for the hills in anticipation. However, now, all that was there was a pit of dread that showed no signs of letting up. An itch had fostered within Bianca's brain as she thought back to her mother's grimoires, the yellow-edged pages all remarking the same thing about the fiery ball of ice-- a harbinger of evil.

       It seemed that everyone had taken into consideration her less than stellar mood, as Caroline had turned down her neurotic tendencies (or more like Bonnie had quickly intercepted), Antonio had been uncharacteristically quiet whenever he took note of his assortment of food decreasing every time he looked away for a few seconds, and Elena had made a notion to refrain from bring Stefan up whenever in her presence. No one knew exactly what was setting the Amorettee teen off, even as she casually dismissed it as a lack of sleep, but no one had wanted to set her off even more.

       "You know," Antonio began as he leisurely flipped through one of the leftover pamphlets that he and Bianca had been assigned to pass out. "Some say that, after the death of Cesar, the Romans took the sign of the comet as a mark of his divinity."

       "You're point?"

       Antonio shrugged. "Nothing much, just that, taking into consideration that my middle name is Julius, I'm destined with a godly nature." At the incredulous look Bianca sent him, he jutted his chin proudly. "Don't believe me all you want, but how else can you explain these devilishly good looks and stunning personality?"

       Bianca raised a brow. "Didn't Cesar get stabbed to death by those closest to him? What use were his devilishly good looks and stunning personality then?"

       "Et tu, Brute?" Antonio whined, placing a hand over his heart and adorning an expression of betrayal. "Oh, how you wound me so. And to think, how we could have ruled together." He let out a struggled groan before dropping his weight on his left side, draping himself against Bianca's downcasted form as she rested against the table, ignoring her snides of protest.

       The familiar laughter birthing from Callie's lips made the raven-haired girl direct her gaze in her direction. Taking notice, the Lockwood spoke. "Bianca is the only person barring even a semblance close to divinity, but you can dream Tonio."

       "This is why I can't stand either of you," the male grumbled, releasing an exaggerated huff, moving to go and rise from his seat, probably in attempts to refill his beverage when all eyes turned in the direction of Jeremy Gilbert, who hastily turned the corner and headed towards where the group conversed.

       "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" He asked, eyes briefly dancing around the room in hopes of spotting the brunette before drifting back to those in front of him.

       Tyler, not to anyone's surprise, scoffed. "You're her stalker," he stated unkindly, gaze dark and accusatory. "You tell us." Wrapped in his search, Jeremy didn't rise to the bait, at first until Tyler edged on with little sympathy. "She probably found somebody else to party with." A sly smirk broke on to his lips. "Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

       Antonio glared at him sharply for the jab, and Bianca refrained from rolling her eyes. A tense environment was building around the two boys and, soon, everyone around them would be dragged into it when Elena questioned Tyler's remark, only for him to jerk his chin in her brother's direction.

       "Tyler-" Callie began, only to be interrupted by Elena's comments of concern.

       Tyler stared cooly at the younger Gilbert, uncaring of those around him as he landed another blow. "She's never gonna go for you." A glint lit up his eyes as he fell under the pretense that he had succeeded in staking some claim that remained undisclosed to others.

       Jeremy, however, wasn't enthused. Smugly he chided, "She already did. Over and over and over again."

       A wave of mixed emotions fell over the group as the boy's comment hung in the air, ranging from disbelief to outrage to disgust. Caroline, wide eyed at the news, muttered. "You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Then she scoffed. "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?" She let out a soft cry when Callie slapped her wrist with grumbled curses of how now was not the time.

       Elena's gaze towards her brother remained unwavering as the boy further explained the bounts of his "relationship" with the Donovan girl, so wrapped in brandishing Tyler's ego before she finally cut in. "You and Vicki-" her tone flared as she clenched her teeth in bubbling disdain. "Jeremy, you're fifteen!"

       With a scoff, the two siblings began arguing with one another over the prospects of his encounters with Vicki, occasionally garnering the input, whether wanted or not, of those near enough to hear. Two, however, remained silent. Bianca stared blankly at the table before her, ear drowning out the conversation while Antonio watched her closely. A sense of nausea had rolled over the young Amorettee the more she listened to Jeremy's dismissal of his sister's concerns, and Tyler's catty remarks weren't helping.

       In the end, the saving grace appeared in the form of Matt who snapped a command towards the group that arguing solved nothing within the moment and that Vicki was still nowhere to be found. Antonio had agreed to pair with Bianca and check the streets in case Vicki stumbled somewhere nearby.

       The group didn't have much time to respond before Bianca stumbled out of her seat, movements uncoordinated and mirroring more like someone trying to flee from danger than searching for someone lost. As the young Amorettee teen stumbled into the cool night air outside of the Grill, her stomach churned and nearly sent her spilling over, forcing her to hastily place a hand over her mouth. It had not been that bad before, she had thought. She usually had more control.

       A hand braced itself along her back, nearly making her jump out of her skin. "It's just me," Antonio commented gently, eyes blinking in confusion as he took in her appearance: skin covered in a thin line of sweat, eyes blown wide and alert, appearing more on edge than anything else. "What's wrong? You can tell me-"

       "I'm fine," Bianca interrupted, thanking the universe for the steady voice she was able to muster.

       "No, you're not, and haven't been for the better half of the week," Antonio argued brows narrowed as he watched the girl rise to her full height, swaying occasionally as she turned to face down the street. "Talk to me."

       "We have to find Vicki." The name sounded wrong in her mouth all of the sudden.

       "It'll be no use to do so while you're like this, and I'm not leaving you alone in this state either, so you can forget sending me away."

       Bianca turned to glare at the brown-eyed boy, eyes trained on his with an intensity that she hoped would be enough to drive him away, but all it did was make him more unwavering. Finally, seeing as it was going nowhere, she spat out. "I just didn't want to be in there anymore, okay! I just..."

       Antonio's gaze softened as he watched Bianca struggle over her words, nose flaring as she inhaled sharply in attempts to collect her bearings.

       "I just couldn't sit there and listen to...listen to...with Vicki and Jeremy-"

       A gentle smile breaks way on to the Lockwood boy's face, disarming Bianca so easily because of course it would as it always had. "It's all right, I understand. Let's just...let's just continue our search for now, okay?"

       Bianca swallowed a shaky breath as she regarded the boy's words, ignoring the feeling in her chest as she let out a nod in agreement. The two pulled from the alleyway and made their way off to the streets, with Antonio's frame lingering ever so closely to the teen girl's side, whether as a prevention or an act of shelter.

       For whatever reason, Bianca didn't care, leaning toward his warmth like a moth to a flame. While the comet was viewed as a harbinger of evil in her mother's notes, standing beside Antonio, the small icy dirtball didn't seem so bad.

____________________

word count: 2594

Me, after promising I would update this fic in February:

Okay now listen, before you come at me, I promise I did have intentions to update, I swear! I have finished chapters in the drafts, but then when I reached the "publish" button, I gave up--- mentally and physically. I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you. Like I was full on prepared to update this on BHM but now we're in May, so 🤷🏾‍♀️. I'm finished with my second semester of college and, while I am dealing with some personal and familial issues, I will try and attempt to update more.

On to the story: sorry if nothing much happened in this chapter, but there are important things to note. 1.) Bianca's dad's involvement in the supernatural as, possibly due to having a witch for a wife and a daughter, and said daughter being attacked by a vampire, he's in the know of what goes bump in the night. 2.) Bianca has trauma from events that, to avoid spoilers, all I will say is exist outside of being attacked by a vampire (which you see a small glimpse of with her conversation with Antonio). Now, I will state this here and now, the trauma does feature instances of an unhealthy dynamic that will probably be explored later on in this series. If that is something you are sensitive too, I will do my best to apply warnings beforehand whether in the beginning or the comments.

Anyway, thank you for reading and please don't be silent, let me know your thoughts!