SEASON ONE — EPISODE TWENTY ONE
"𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡"

‧˚꒰🍷꒱༘‧—

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'✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ BROOKE WAS SAT OUTSIDE OF THE GRILL, in the park just across from the restaurant with Alaric and Damon. The physically older man was stood still with his arms crossed over his chest beside Brooke, who was sat crisscrossed on the grass, picking at her nails silently.

Damon, however, was pacing around in front of them, clearly filled with nerves and whilst Brooke was too, she decided to stay calm, "We should be in there."

"No." Alaric replied simply, shaking his head in disbelief, "Isobel made it clear we're not to step foot inside."

"I'm not gonna kill her in a crowded restaurant."

"I wouldn't put it past you." Brooke mumbled quietly, her eyes still on her hands and Damon, unbeknownst to her, sent her a glare.

"You're not gonna kill her, period." Alaric brought Damon's attention back to him, his face filled with annoyance.

"She ruined your life. You still wanna protect her?" Damon furrowed his brows.

"He still loves her, Demon. Of course you'd know nothing about that—"

"I loved the Isobel I married, the living one. This one... She isn't the woman I fell in love with." Alaric explained, his eyes trailing over to the Grill and Brooke pouted her bottom lip, feeling undoubtedly sad for him, "She's cold and detached now."

"Yeah. Like I tried to say earlier, she's given up her humanity." Damon had his back turned to them, but he turned his head to look at them over his shoulder, his hair falling into his eyes just a tad.

"See, I don't get that. Stefan has his humanity. He's a good guy. You're a dick and you kill people, but I see something human in you. But with her, there was— There was nothing." Alaric looked down at the grass, a grieving look on his face and Brooke jumped up with ease, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched just a little but smiled when he looked over at her, grateful for her comfort.

"You can turn it off. It's like a button you can press, like a light switch." Brooke explained, the information she was giving out slightly surprised Damon, but he shrugged it off nonetheless.

"I mean, Stefan's different. He wants the whole human experience. He wants to feel every episode of How I Met Your Mother... so he shuts his feelings out." Damon continued, pacing around again, "The problem is, as a vampire, your instinct is not to feel."

"Well that explains why you're such an asshole." Brooke insulted, though a soft smile was resting upon her glossy lips and it only irritated Damon further as he glared in her direction for the second time.

"If you could turn it off, wouldn't you? No guilt. No shame. No regret." Damon stood on the other side of Alaric, looking at the side of his face with a raised brow.

"You haven't." Alaric stated.

"Of course I have, Ric. That's why I'm so fun to be around." Then Damon walked just a few steps away, his eyes on the grill and his back to them. But, even Brooke, his biggest hater, knew he hadn't turned his humanity off because she saw the way he looked at Elena.

He had that look of care, maybe possibly even love or adoration towards the Gilbert girl, she saw it, anybody who isn't blind can see it. It was obvious, even Stefan could see.

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THE STAIRWELL OF THE GILBERT HOUSEHOLD WAS CREAKY, Brooke figured that out after two minutes of sitting on the wooden staircase. She furrowed her brows as she pressed her hand against the wood, but just as it creaked again, she felt a sharp pain shoot across her palm, "Ow." She winced, pulling her hand back to see a small splinter in the centre of her hand.

She held her hand in her lap, her face scrunched into a concentrated frown as she attempted to carefully pull the splinter from her hand, and a victorious smile spread across her lips just as Elena jogged down the creaky staircase, "How are you doing?" Brooke asked as she wiped the blood on her black tank top under her red leather jacket and Elena passed her on the stairs, letting out a sigh.

"I don't know, it's all just weird." Elena expressed, zipping her purse and Brooke nodded, scratching the back of her head awkwardly as she thought up what to say, but before she could open her mouth, a knock erupted at the door just in front of them. Elena sent her cousin a strange look, her brows knitted together before approaching the door, opening it to see Bonnie stood on the other side.

"Hey." Bonnie greeted and Brooke jumped up from the stairs, standing beside Elena with a wide smile on her face.

"BonBon." Brooke nicknamed, grabbing onto the Bennett's hands and pulling her inside away from the cold whilst Elena closed the door, slightly surprised to see Bonnie.

"What're you doing here?" Elena questioned, her brows furrowed even more than before and Bonnie pressed her lips together, shrugging.

"I couldn't sleep last night. You were obviously upset about something, and I just walked away." Bonnie explained, her eyes on Elena and Brooke just stood to the left, silent but listening, "That's not me. That can't be us. You're my friend, Elena. If you need me, I'm here for you. And I'm sorry I couldn't show you that yesterday." Bonnie had stepped forwards as she expressed her apology to Elena, a sincere look on her face and Brooke smiled softly, quietly departing into the kitchen to make tea.

As Elena and Bonnie made up in the hallway, Brooke looked around for the tea bags, unsure of where they'd be. She'd been in that house a million times before, why couldn't she remember? It frustrated her to no end, but before she could scream from the rooftops, her phone rang in her jacket pocket.

She pulled it out and winced as the cold metal pressed against the scratch on her hand, but quickly brushed it off as she pressed her cell against her ear, "Hello?"

"Where are you?" Nathan's voice echoed down the line and Brooke rolled her eyes, strolling towards the living room as she checked on Bonnie and Elena, who were now hugging it out.

"Where are you?" She teased, her fingertips tapping against the back of her cell as she scuffed her shoes against the glossy wooden floors.

"I'm serious, Brooke. I was driving home and saw a lady stood at Mom's grave." Nate explained, clearly concerned and Brooke frowned, biting down on her bottom lip in confusion.

"What does that have to do with where I am? Why is that even a problem?" Brooke scrunched her face up, completely bewildered.

"Because I swear I've seen her before." Nate replied, going silent on the other line, but his words only confused Brooke all the more, not sure what the point was.

"This conversation makes no sense, Nate." Brooke shook her head in disbelief, pacing around the kitchen and Nate stayed silent as if he was thinking things through, or thinking up what to say.

"It doesn't matter. I just wanted to know if you were safe." His tone was now rushed and irritated, and it caused a sense of worry to rise in Brooke's chest.

"Um— I'm safe, I'm actually heading back to school with Elena and Bonnie to finish up on the Float." Brooke explained, noticing Bonnie and Elena waiting for her at the door and Nathan let out a sigh, smacking his lips.

"Okay, look after yourself. I'll see you later." Nate quickly ended the call, he didn't even tell her he loved her like he usually would, it made her extremely concerned, but she brushed it off without another thought, making her way down the hallway towards her friends.

"Let's move it." Brooke smiled, hiding her nerves as Elena held the door open for the two, following them out to her car.

At the school, Brooke had wandered off towards where Caroline and Matt were. The blonde was sat atop the float, sticking glue and glitter onto it whilst Matt worked on the wheels, his outfit and hands covered in grease.

"Hey, could you grab that wrench for me?" Matt requested, pointing towards the wrench sat on a truck nearby and without hesitation, Brooke nodded with a small smile, quickly making her way over to fetch it for him. But, as her fingers curled around the handle of the silver wrench, a hand curled around her wrist.

She furrowed her brows, looking up to her right at the culprit, her eyes landing on Stefan and she quickly tugged her hand out of his grip, wincing as the wrench pressed against the wound in her palm. His brows knitted together with worry and he hovered over her as she glanced down at her hand, noticing the small scratch in her hand.

"How'd that happen?" He asked, his hand resting against the bed of the truck they were stood in front of and Brooke quickly moved her hand out of his sight, squinting her eyes under the blazing sun.

"Just a splinter." She shrugged before spinning around, taking a step away in hopes she wouldn't have to endure an awkward conversation with him but she didn't get far and she didn't get her way.

"Wait." Stefan called out, his head tilted slightly and his eyes sparkling over with a glint of hopefulness in the greenish spirals.

"What?" Brooke raised a brow as she turned back around, holding the wrench loosely in her hand.

"It kinda feels like you're avoiding me. Are you okay?" He asked, taking a step towards her and she blinked a few times, completely taken aback. The last thing she expected him to ask was how she was doing, if she was okay in the brain because she wasn't, and nobody other than her brother and Caroline seemed to care. But in the end, they were the only ones she ever needed.

"Yep, perfectly fine." Brooke pressed her lips into a tight line and he shook his head, his eyes scanning her face. He knew she wasn't okay, but before he could ask further, loud yelling was heard. They both looked over to see Matt being crushed by a part of the wheel he was fixing, screaming out for help and a few guys rushed over, their hands tucked under the bed of the float in hopes to hold it up, but it wasn't working.

Stefan, without any hesitation, ran over and helped, the floor of the float immediately lifting up off of Matt's shoulder.

Brooke's eyes were wide as she turned to place the wrench back on the end of the truck just beside her in order to help Matt, but another hand curled around her wrist and she was grabbed, taken away from the school in the blink of an eye.

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IN THE SPACE OF MINUTES, Brooke found herself sat in front of four vampires, one standing out to her in particularly. Her hair was jet black, her eyes were bright blue and she resembled Elena in a way. They didn't look the same, but Brooke knew just from the first glance that that was Elena's birth mother, Isobel.

"Isobel?" Brooke scrunched her face up as she squinted her eyes, struggling against the grip of another vampire's hand on her shoulder, keeping her down in the fancy chair she was sat in. They were in a luxurious house, she just couldn't make out exactly where.

"How did you know?" Isobel smiled from where she stood just a few metres away, her hands in her coat pockets.

"I can just tell. Who else would kidnap me?" Brooke huffed, chewing on the inside of her cheek to keep her temper at bay.

"You have a point. You're very smart, much like your mother." Isobel complimented, but Brooke wasn't going to suck up to her that easy. She didn't like her, and she'd always stick by that.

"What do you know about my Mom?" Brooke snapped, still struggling against the grip of the vampires, but they wouldn't budge whatsoever.

"A lot more than you, sweetie." Isobel responded in a calm tone, though there was a hint of disrespect laced in her voice which irked Brooke to her core, "Did you know your Mom knew about vampires? I'm not sure she'd be too happy to hear you're so close with the infamous Salvatores."

"What?" Brooke stopped fighting against them, her expression softening yet still hard as she glared up at Isobel. She was confused.

"Yep. She was the reason I became so interested in them in the first place. I mean, she was a Gilbert." Isobel scoffed just as the front door opened and she quickly turned around, walking out of the living room, down the hallway to answer the door. Brooke heard some muttering before Isobel came strolling back in just a few seconds later, only now minus her coat, "—Because I have the next best thing."

Brooke was just able to catch the last of Isobel's words just as John stepped into view, his eyes widening as they laid on Brooke being held back in the chair, "What the hell are you doing?" John snapped calmly at Isobel as he strolled past her, stepping in between his niece and his vampire ex—lover.

"Getting what I want." Isobel replied with a smirk, her hands situated on her hips.

"Per usual." Brooke muttered, causing Isobel to let out a laugh.

"She's my niece, Isobel, and you're gonna let her go right this second." John demanded, turning his back to Brooke as he spoke to her.

"That gaudy ring on your finger? It comes off." Isobel continued, a smile on her face as if it was amusing whilst John was panicking.

"Come on. Come on, Isobel. I—I know you." John attempted to see into her soul as he stepped closer and closer to her, his face so close she could feel his hot breath on her lips, "Okay? It's me, John. You can't hurt a kid."

"I'll kill her to prove you wrong." Isobel smirked mischievously whilst Brooke sent her a disgusted look, the woman was a psycho.

"Not too sure my Mom'll be happy with you if you do that." Brooke spoke up, a half—joking tone in her voice and Isobel rolled her eyes, though a grin was evident on her lips.

"Stop, Brooke. You're not helping yourself." John scolded, glancing back at Brooke but just as he turned away from Isobel, the aforementioned woman muttered something in French to the vampire lady stood to Brooke's right. The lady grabbed a vase from the coffee table and smacked John over the head with it.

Brooke gasped, her hand smacking over her mouth in shock as she watched John fall to the floor with a groan of pain. The Gilbert gripped onto one of the other leather chairs only to be kicked in the gut by the vampire dude on Brooke's left, causing him to fall back onto the floor on his back.

"You're all fucking psycho!" Brooke yelled as the lady stomped on John's chest, keeping her heeled boot pressed onto his neck as the dude beat him up, only stopping when Isobel gave them a signal.

"We're not psycho, darling. We're just vampires." Isobel grinned, leaning down beside John as the man coughed, grabbed his hand and sliding the Gilbert ring from his finger with ease, "Nice try. We'll see how you do without this." Isobel told him before she stood up straight with the ring in between her fingers, strolling off into the hallway.

Just an hour later, Brooke had been allowed to use the bathroom, so she brought a warm cloth back for John as she made her way back into the living room, "Here, dimwit." She threw the cloth at his face as the man sat up, his back against one of the chairs.

"Thank you." He muttered quietly through heavy breaths as she took a seat in the chair beside him, her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms.

"What is she after?" Brooke asked, her voice hushed as she looked towards the man she had no choice but to call her uncle. John let out a sigh, lifting the cloth up to wipe some of the blood from the gash on the side of his head.

"Your ancestor invented a weapon. A device that's extremely harmful to vampires. We've been trying to get it." John explained, his head resting back against the cushion on the chair behind him.

Brooke furrowed her brows, her fingertips tapping against her cheek, "Why?"

"Because there's a group of vampires from a long time ago that wants revenge on this town." John explained, his eyes on his legs whilst Brooke scrunched her face up, clearly bewildered.

"But... Why in the world would a vampire help you kill other vampires?" She asked, wanting answers, especially after what Isobel had told her not too long ago.

"Isobel has her own reasons for wanting them dead. Look, Brooke... No one ever thought vampires would return to this town. Not in modern times. But they have. And we have to destroy them." John finished, knowing exactly what her reaction would be.

"Well, good—luck with that. You're gonna have to kill me before I help any of your dumbasses." Brooke scoffed, turning away from him as she looked over at the tall vampire guy stood in the doorway, leaning against a pillar with his eyes on the front door ahead of him.

"Why? They're all evil, Brooke. You need to understand." John reached his hand out to place it on her knees but she quickly smacked his hand away, a hard glare slapped on to her features.

"No. I don't believe that." Brooke told him, fiddling with her bracelets.

"Well, your parents did. And as their daughter, that should mean something to you." John replied, avoiding her eye contact and she felt a pang in her heart. A part of her wanted to cry right there, it wasn't the happiest thing to hear, that both of her parents knew about vampires and wanted to kill them all.

"How did they know about all of this?" She asked curiously despite the fact her heart was slowly breaking into two.

"Grayson. He taught us all. Your parents only met because of him. Phillip was like Isobel, curious, only he hated all vampires and wanted to wipe them from existence. Mary was just obligated to know as a Gilbert, she was the first one our brother told. It made me jealous in a way." John let out a chuckle as if it was a memory to relish in whilst Brooke just watched him with a look of pure disgust on her face.

"So, you're telling me my parents were vampire hunters?" She asked, her brows raised as she waited patiently for a reply and he looked over at her, chewing down on his bottom lip.

"Worse." Was all John replied with, and that was all Brooke needed to question her entire life. She thought up theories, she overthought it all and she couldn't help it, her mind on overload.

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