CHAPTER FOURTEEN / ACT ONE

Normal Teenage Girl

The Salvatore's dragged a bruised and battered Angelina back into the boarding house. Having been tortured all day, she barely limped inside, her wounds not yet healed from her previous abuse.

They placed her on the couch as carefully as possible and she groaned as her body made even the tiniest movements. "Thanks.." She whispered, and they nodded. Damon remained on his feet while Stefan took a seat beside her.

"I'll be back." Damon remarked as he quickly left the room.

Angelina gazed at the kindled fire in front of her, her thoughts elsewhere, while she and Stefan sat silently together. She couldn't get the image out of her head of him continuously stabbing Fredrick with the stake. Of course, she'd seen people slain in horrific ways before, but she'd never seen him, of all people, kill someone so brutally; and despite remaining quiet the entire car ride home, she could tell he couldn't stop thinking about it either.

"Are you alright?" He finally spoke up to break the growing tension, glancing down at her as her eyes remained locked on the bright fire.

"I'm fine," She replied softly, her words just loud enough for him to hear. "Just a little tired."

The room fell silent for a period of time once again as the two stared at the fire, fighting to find the right words to say to each other after today.

"Angelina, about what happ-"

"I don't wanna talk about it Stefan," The Petrova protested as her eyes steadily opened and closed, slowly drifting off to sleep. "I just- want to.. sleep.."

With her head on his lap, she fell asleep almost instantly. Stefan's eyes startled and then softened into a warm smile as he seized a blanket, which was hanging over the couch's side, and unfolded it before draping it over her body.

Gently, he rubbed her head as she slept peacefully, cherishing the all of the short peaceful moments he could get before they all drifted away tomorrow.

Angelina's eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the sunlight which shined through the sheer curtains and onto her face, blurring her vision. yawned softly as she sat up in her bed, stretching her arms. The last thing she recalled was falling asleep on the couch with Stefan the night before, and now she was back in her bed.

She rubbed her forehead and looked down to see that she was still wearing her clothes from the other day, and they were completely stained with her dried blood.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on her door. She groaned significantly and rolled her eyes, realizing that either of the Salvatore's were on the opposite side waiting to drag her out of bed.

"What?" She called out in her best lively voice, as if she had been awake for hours, and the door opened up and in came Stefan.

"I said 'what?' not 'come in.'" She remarked, falling back onto the sheets as she ran her fingers across her face.

"You do know this is my house, right?" The vampire chuckled as he ventured further into the room.

"Right."

"How're you doing?" He asked with genuine concern in his tone, which surprised her. "You seemed weak and tired after we left the tomb vampires house."

"I feel much better." Angelina exhaled, a smile appearing on her lips as she rose. "I probably need a shower, but other than that, I'm fine."

Angelina locked her gaze on him, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The only person who ever checked on her and honestly wondered if she was okay during her entire stay in Mystic Falls was him.

Which was odd given how much he despised her guts only a couple weeks ago. It made her heart flutter to know that he cared about her, even if it was only a small sliver.

Before he could answer, the aggravating sound of his phone entered their thoughts. He reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone as Angelina swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, battling with herself to get ready and begin her day.

Just as she was about to venture over to the dresser, she felt a grip on her arm and glanced to see Stefan handing her the phone.

"It's Elena." He told her and an irritated demeanor washed over her face. She grabbed the phone from his hands and put it to her ear as she continued strolling over to the dresser in search for clothes.

"Y'know you could just ask for my number right?" She remarked.

"Sorry- It's kind of important." The doppelgänger apologized, her tone sounding stressed. "Jenna's getting suspicious about you not living with us. I told her you were staying at a hotel for a while but she wants you here."

"Then tell her I'd rather stay at the hotel or something."

"You don't know Jenna like I do, she'll practically hunt you down and drag you into our house if she has to."

"Okay, so what exactly are you saying?" Angelina wrinkled her eyebrows as Stefan remained close to her with his arms crossed and a concerned look all over.

"She wants you to move in with us."

Angelina's eyes extended in shock just as Stefan's. The upsetting consideration of living with Elena irritated her, not to mention living with three other humans. She experienced difficulty managing humans as it was, however living with them? It was a flat out no for her.

"Absolutely not," She scoffed as she shook her head, making Stefan roll his eyes and snatch the phone out of her hands.

"She'll be there in 30 minutes." He answered for her, procuring a kick on the ankle from Angelina. He hung up the phone and set it back in his pocket prior to sitting on the bed carelessly.

"Um- what are you doing?!" The Petrova exclaimed, crossing her arms. "I specifically said the words 'absolutely not'; which means absoluut niet, absolument pas, absolut nicht." She listed in Dutch, French, and German.

"How many languages do you speak?" He raised his brows in admiration.

"Six." She muttered, an eye-roll following after. "That's besides the point. Why do I have to live with them? I'm doing perfectly fine here."

"Because if you want to blend in with the crowd, you have to actually live a normal life." He replied. "And I didn't think you'd actually move in with us in the first place-"

"I'm supposedly Elena's 'long lost twin sister' or whatever, I think I have the opposite of a normal life."

"You know what I mean."

Angelina slapped her palm against her forehead and ran her hand down her face, sighing heavily. No matter how much she tried to deny it, Stefan was right. If she wanted to fit in, she'd have to put in the effort. Regardless of how miserable she'd feel doing so.

Grimacing, Angelina took a deep breath before meeting his gaze. "Fine, I'll go." Her tone was reluctant as she glared at him while a small grin tugged at his lips.

"Perfect."

The room fell silent for a few months as Angelina took a seat on the bed. Her eyes roamed the room until returning to his once again. As her thoughts shifted from Elena to Stefan's, she couldn't help but remember the gore-ish moment between him and the tomb vampires yesterday. Concern spread throughout her mind, though she was hesitant to bring it up.

"By the way, how are you? Yesterday when you.. killed Fredrick, you didn't seem like yourself." The subject quickly changed, as well as the atmosphere. Soon it went from a lighthearted conversation to a bit of a dark area the moment the mention of the ordeal slipped from her mouth.

"I'm perfectly fine," He brushed off her worry, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. "I just react differently to blood than most, but I'm fine now."

"You sure?" Her eyes scanned him up and down.

"Yep."

She nodded her head in a slow manner with suspicion lingering in the back of her mind. What she saw last night wasn't Stefan; it was a past nightmare returning in the heat of the moment to haunt him.

She didn't want to brush it off. She cared about him, that's for sure. Though she wasn't the type to push. Well, not the type to push Stefan.

The hints of birds singing in the tree ran throughout her hairs, alongside the smell of dewy grass from the storm the day prior. She knocked on the door to the Gilbert residence, battling with herself to put a grin all over in spite of desiring to be anyplace other than here.

However she had to concede. Neither Stefan or Damon had the option to invite vampires into their house since they were vampires themselves; which means individuals could simply waltz inside at any moment. But at least she'd be able to stay somewhere where vengeful tomb vampires didn't have access to unless they were allowed.

The door opened wide to reveal Jenna, a stunned look all over which slowly framed into a wide grin. "Angelina, we were just talking about you! Elena said you were looking for a place to stay?"

"Yeah, I was on the phone with her about an hour ago." The brunette began with a warm smile on her face.

"Oh well.. you're always welcome here!" She smiled, taking the Petrova's hand in hers.

Just then, footsteps emerged from the kitchen and into the entryway. Angelina looked up to see Jeremy and Elena standing right behind Jenna, one with a puzzled expression and the other with a surprised one.

"Angelina, you're here-" Elena cleared her throat, attempting to play along with their scheme.

"Sorry, it took me a while." Her doppelgänger responded before entering the house and making direct eye contact with Jeremy, who remained standing there with his mouth agape.

"What's going on?" He finally spoke up, looking at his sister and back at Angelina. "What the hell? Who.."

"You must be Jeremy," Angelina quickly cut him off, offering warm smile to lighten the already tense mood. "I'm Angelina, Elena's.. sister."

"Excuse me?"

Jenna turned towards the boy, releasing Angelina's hands as she placed her palm on his shoulder. "Jer.. It's a long story," Her tone was gentle whilst she gestured her head in the direction of the stairs. "Just go upstairs and I'll explain everything later, alright?"

Jeremy glared at her, then at his sister who stood there with an oddly concerned expression. "What? Hell no.. I'm not going anywhere until—"

"Jeremy, upstairs now."

The Gilbert boy remained silent for a few moments before flicking his aunt's hand from his shoulder and running up the stairs.

"Well he seemed welcoming." The Petrova joked, brushing a lingering strand of her from her eyes.

Just as she entered the house, the sound of a car locking caught them off guard. They all turned curiously to see a male figure approaching the house. Though not just any man.

John Gilbert.

"Oh, god.." Jenna sighed as he reached the top of the stairs and onto the porch. Angelina's eyes widened, and she looked him in the eyes; though he remained unfazed by the fact that there were two versions of his own nieces faces standing right before him.

"Uncle John.. hi." The Gilbert finally spoke up, standing beside het doppelgänger with a confused yet uncomfortable look on her face.

"John.. you made it.." Jenna remarked, though her tone sounded much more unpleasant.

"Said I'd be in by noon." He replied with a smile whilst reaching his hand out for Angelina's. "Mm, you must be Angelina, it's nice to finally meet you!"

"Um—excuse me?"

"Wow, the resemblance is uncanny."

"How did you-"

"What? You didn't think I knew my own brother had twins? Of course I knew, it was only a matter of time before you find each other. A bizarre situation, really. But I'm happy you two did."

Angelina opened her mouth though no words could describe the thoughts running in her head. Was this a joke?

"I had some business in town," He stepped further inside. "I thought a visit was in order."

"This isn't making any sense, I.." Raising a hand in the air, Jenna shook her head.

"Well it doesn't need too, Jenna." He placed a condescending hand on her shoulder. "At least not to you."

"What's that supposed to me—"

"How long you staying?" The sound of Elena's voice quickly cut her off while Jenna's glare remained on him.

"I don't know yet." He responded with a careless shrug.

"So you're just... looking for a place to stay?" She questioned and his eyes fixated on her, eyeing her up and down as if he was finding some reason to judge her.

"Yeah." He spoke. "That's right."

A small uncomfortable silence fell over the four. The air was rigid, and almost everyone in the room had questions running throughout their mind left unanswered.

"Anyways.. I have school to get to.." The Gilbert broke the silence, her tone cautious. "Nice seeing you John." She waved goodbye as she hurriedly left the house.

"Oh— school!" Lightly slapping the side of her head, Jenna's eyes widened as she turned to the Petrova. "I need to get you enrolled!"

"No, that's fine, please don-"

"You don't have to worry about that," John spoke again, causing both of their heads to snap in his direction. "I already have."

"You did?"

"Of course I did, you know me. I always come prepared."

"What..?" The Sommers girl spoke under her breath as she stared at him. "You're not her legal guardian.. I'm not even her legal guardian yet."

"Uh.. it's fine Jenna." Angelina directed her attention to the redhead, looking her directly in the eyes as she began to compel her, her pupils dilating. "Everything's fine. I'll figure everything out myself, you can just.. relax. Alright?"

Jenna stood there with a blank expression, standing in a trance before snapping back into reality. "You're right. I should relax.."

"It was nice seeing you Angelina," She gave her a small smile before flickering her eyes back to John. "You too John." She said before exiting the hallway and making her way back to the kitchen, leaving Angelina and John alone.

"What are you doing here and how did you know I was posing as Elena's sister?" The doppelgänger immediately began to interrogate him.

Of all people, the last person she expected to see again was John Gilbert. Especially not now. As apart of Katherine's many schemes, Angelina had met him before on very few occasions. Mainly when the conversation surrounded Isobel or Elena.

But he was no friend to her.

"Let's just say I know a lot of things." He replied with a subtle smirk on his face, which made her want to slap it right off of him. No, she wasn't very fond of him either. "In fact, Katherine's the one who told me to enroll you."

"Katherine? Why would she-"

"She has a message for you, Angelina. Go on and live your human life, and she'll take care of everything on her on. And from her tone, I'd advise you'd stay out of her way." His voice was bold and threatening, one that had her confused as to why he felt so confident speaking to her.

"Have a nice first day of school by the way."

Angelina remained speechless, her mouth agape as she watched him exit the room.

What was her sister's plan, and why was she suddenly leaving her out of it? Just as she did in the past, she's pushing her aside again out of the blue.

Maybe she's come up with a better plan. Maybe that's why she hadn't been answering her calls or text messages. Or maybe she simply wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

Whatever it was, she didn't like it; but as she had no clue as to where Kathrine's whereabouts were, all she could do was sit around like a duck and do exactly what her sister and Stefan advised her to do from now on. Live a normal human life.

The sky was gloomy, and the dampness warmed Angelina's skin as she and Elena walked into school together. Almost everyone in the corridor was too absorbed with their conversations to see Elena and Angelina standing next to them, which relieved them both as none of them desired any unnecessary attention.

"Okay, I'm barely 5 feet in and I already want to leave." The Pierce girl scrunched her nose, glancing in Elena's direction. "This place smells like if Damon bathed himself in sweaty sock water and then boiled it in onions."

"One, that's disgusting and oddly spectic," Elena began. "And two, don't worry. You'll be absolutely fine, just play it cool. Remember, normal teenage girl things."

The doppelgänger exhaled softly before making her way further into the school with Elena by her side. After a few more minutes of stares from random studies as the pair walked down the hallway together, and a few whistles from teenage boys, Angelina soon noticed Stefan in the corner of her eye at his locker and immediately ran up to him.

"Do I have to be here all day?" She immediately began to complain as he turned to look at her, his face shifting from brooding to surprised. "I've barely been in here five seconds and it feels like I've stepped into hell."

"She's over exaggerating," Elena rolled her eyes.

"And you're under exaggerating."

"I didn't think you'd actually come to school." Stefan said whilst leaning his shoulder against the lockers with his arms crossed.

"I didn't think so either but change of plans." She exhaled while glancing around the hallway to see multiple shocked and concerned eyes on her and Elena. "This is making my skin crawl."

"I have class soon," Elena tried ignored the looks on her as she checked the time on her phone. "I'll talk to you guys later, alright?"

The two nodded as she walked away from them, though Angelina failed to pay much attention to her exit as she was too focused on the eyes on hers. She soon returned her gaze to Stefan who seemed to be spaced out once again and furrowed her eyebrows. "Stefan?"

He snapped back into reality and glanced down in her direction, frantically attempting to pull himself together. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" She inquired, titling her head to the side with a look of concern on her face as her mind traveled back to her previous conversation with him. "You seem a little off."

"I told you, I'm fine." He continued to brush off her worry, which only annoyed her even more.

"Right.."

Just then, a familiar voice entered her mind and it grew louder and louder until she saw none other than Caroline Forbes running her way. "Angelina!" She exclaimed before wrapping her arms around the brunette. "God, I thought you'd never come here."

"Yup, I'm here-" She laughed awkwardly, returning her hug.

"I have to give you a tour!" The blonde let go of her, and clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Come on!"

She immediately grabbed Angelina's wrist and dragged her along the hallways before she could resist. Angelina looked back to find Stefan laughing at her, which caused her to roll her eyes and return her gaze to Caroline.

Perhaps she was exaggerating, and Stefan's was fine. Every vampire has their violent moments, and he was no exception. Whatever it was, it seemed to have passed without any problem and he was back to normal.

There was absolutely nothing to worry about.

AUTHORS NOTE
sorry for the sorta kinda long wait lol, the next chapter is gonna be split into two not that it kind of matter but yeah

IF U SEE THIS, SHOULD I CREATE A BEST FRIEND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANGELINA AND BONNIE??