SEASON ONE — EPISODE FIFTEEN
"'𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙞 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪"

‧˚꒰🍷꒱༘‧—

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'✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ IT WAS A FEW WEEKS LATER, Sheila Bennett had died the same night Ben McKittrick did, and it broke Bonnie beyond repair. Brooke offered her a place at her trailer, but Bonnie denied and told her she wanted to be alone, to just go to her aunt's and stay there for a while.

Brooke completely understood, but made sure to send her a few voicemails every couple of days to check up on her. The funeral was depressing, it brought back so many memories about Brooke's mother, about how miserable the death was. The night of the funeral, Brooke and Nathan spent hours binge watching old videos of the Elliot family before they cried themselves to sleep together.

She was currently working, wiping down tables and serving colas. It was the Founder's Day Fundraiser and many middle—aged women from around Mystic Falls were sat at booths and the bar, gossiping about the possible bachelors.

Her shift was almost over, that was something she was over the moon about and she was glad she didn't have to sit through the entire miserable fundraiser party. Just as she exited the kitchen after saying goodbye to Tony, her hands shoved in the pockets of her red leather jacket, Elena entered the Grill, approaching her at a quick speed.

The younger girl grabbed ahold of Brooke's elbow, a smirk on her lips, "You're coming with me." She spoke, her voice playful as she dragged her cousin out of the crowded Grill and towards her red MINI.

"Where are we going?" Brooke asked as she opened the passenger door, climbing in and Elena rounded the car, getting into the driver's side.

"We're visiting Trudie Peterson at 312 Boulder Avenue." Elena spoke, sticking her keys into the ignition and Brooke furrowed her brows, putting on her seatbelt just as the small car rolled onto the road

"Who? Where?"

"My birth mother's bestie." Elena shrugged, her concentrated eyes on the road and Brooke nodded slowly in slight understanding, her brows still knitted together.

"And how do you know that this woman's not a serial killer psychopath?" Brooke asked, though there was a playful hint in her tone and Elena rolled her eyes, tapping her fingertips on the steering wheel.

"I just know, okay? And if she is a serial killer psychopath, you can kick her." Elena smiled softly towards her cousin, who let out a giggle, happy with that arrangement.

"Yay."

It took a total of ten minutes for them to arrive in the quiet neighbourhood which looked to be deserted, but Brooke's best guess was that it was a neighbourhood for the elderly, which was why it was so silent. They climbed out and Elena let out a heavy sigh as they approached the small house, clearly filled with nerves.

"It'll be okay." The Elliot girl told her, a small smile on her lips and Elena nodded once they stopped on the porch, watching as Brooke knocked on the front door. A few moments after, a blonde lady answered the door, a sweet smile on her face, so Brooke smiled back, leaning closer to Elena, "Trudie Peterson?"

"Yes?" Trudie nodded, her smile kind.

"Hi, I'm Penelope and this is Elena Gilbert." Brooke grinned, gesturing to her cousin beside her, who sent her a weird look before smiling towards Trudie.

"Uh, I wanted to talk to you about Isobel Flemming." Elena proposed, holding tightly onto her bag strap as Trudie's smile only grew.

"Well, I haven't heard that name in years. How do you know her?" Trudie's eyes flickered between the pair and Brooke grinned awkwardly whilst Elena explained, unable to get the words out.

"I think that, um, well— Do you know if she had a baby that she gave up for adoption?" Elena finally asked, letting out a stressed sigh and Trudie's smile dropped, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh, my God. You're her daughter." Trudie let out a laugh, causing Brooke's eyebrows to knit together slightly but Elena felt the opposite way, a smile appearing on her lips, "I was just gonna make some tea. Would you like some?"

"Sure, we'd love some." Elena responded before Brooke had a say.

"Uh, the kitchen's this way." Trudie pointed her thumb in the direction of the hallway behind her ands stood to the side, giving them space to go inside. Elena led the way, stepping inside as her eyes scanned the cozy house and Brooke held onto one of the hooks on Elena's jeans, making sure to stay close.

"We're gonna get murdered." Brooke whispered to her cousin, her eyes searching for possible ways to escape if it did come to it and Elena scoffed, rolling her eyes as they entered the kitchen. Trudie strolled in after them, attending to the kettle which was sat on the stove.

"I wasn't gonna come. I didn't think I was. But I was driving, and I hit this stoplight... It made me think about when I was learning how to drive and my Mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left hand side..." Elena explained as she pulled off her jacket, placing it on the back of one of the chairs at the kitchen table and Brooke sat down, carefully taking off her own jacket with a weary look, "...and then I was thinking about my Mom and... I had your address. I'm sorry for barging in."

"It's no problem." Trudie shook her head, an unusually friendly smile on her face, causing Brooke to squint her eyes. She was too sweet, "Um, just a surprise, though. I haven't thought about Isobel in years." Trudie explained as both her and Elena sat down at the table, accompanying Brooke.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Elena leaned forwards slightly, one of her brows furrowed.

"About 17 years ago, when she left to go have you. We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart." Trudie shrugged, glancing at Brooke momentarily, who was just staring at her.

"And you don't know where she ended up?" Brooke spoke up, causing Elena to glance back at her.

"She was in Florida for a while. She was on her own. I know it wasn't easy." Trudie explained with a smile and Brooke nodded, a single eyebrow raised.

"Do you have any idea who my father is?" Elena asked and for a moment, Trudie looked as if she knew, she looked as if she was about to reveal to them who Elena's birth father was but, that wasn't the case.

"I could never get her to fess up." Trudie replied, though it was clearly a lie but before Brooke could say anything, she opened her mouth again, "Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into college on a scholarship."

Elena grinned, interested in the conversation, "Where did she go?"

"Somewhere in North Carolina. Duke, I think." Trudie nodded continuously, as if she was hoping her words would convince them and it seemed to convince Elena, but Brooke was clearly skeptical, "Smart girl, smart school." The kettle began to whistle loudly, causing Trudie to stand from the table, "Let me just grab that, ahem..."

Once she was out of sight, Brooke leaned towards Elena, "She's lying." The older girl expressed, causing Elena to send her a confused look, she obviously believed Trudie was telling the truth. With a sweet smile and some tea, Elena would believe anything.

"About what?" Elena questioned just as Brooke's phone rang in her jacket pocket.

"Everything." Brooke stated before she stood up from the table and grabbed her phone from her jacket, along with the jacket itself. She made her way out of the kitchen and towards the front door, stepping outside as she clicked accept on the call, "Hello?"

"Brooke, it's Matt." His voice came down the line and Brooke smiled a little, her free hand toying with her leather jacket.

"Hey, Matt. What's cooking?" Brooke asked with a smirk, lifting her jacket to pull it on, holding the phone to her ear using her shoulder. But, her smirk dropped when she heard him sigh down the line.

"My Mom's back." He replied, his voice snappy and filled with frustration. Brooke's free hand curled into a fist at the mention of Matt's mother — she never liked Kelly and Kelly never liked Brooke, along with Caroline as well. Only Caroline continued to suck up to Kelly in hopes the woman would eventually like her, Brooke couldn't care less.

"Are you kidding? What does she want this time?" She asked, her frown evident on her face.

"I don't know. She said she doesn't want anything." Matt shrugged unsurely, he didn't know whether to believe his mother or not.

"Your Mom's a liar, Matt. Don't fall for her bullshit again." Brooke told him, her voice stern and Matt chuckled, agreeing.

"I know, I know. I'll keep you updated." He told her and she nodded to herself, her eyes widening just slightly as Elena exited the house, suddenly in a rush.

"Okay, love you." Brooke responded quickly before ending the call, following Elena off of the porch towards the Gilbert's car, "Elena? What happened?" Brooke asked, finding it hard to keep up with the younger girl's quick pace but just as she stepped onto the road, she noticed a person out of the corner of her eye.

She looked over, her thin eyebrows knitted together with slight concern as she looked at the random man — at least in his late forties — stood in the middle of the road nearby, staring at Elena with his legs spread apart.

"What the fuck?" Brooke cursed, brushing some hair behind her ear and Elena looked up from her hands where she was holding her car keys, confusion evident in her expression.

"What?" Elena replied, following Brooke's line of sight and her eyes widened when she, too, saw the man, locking eyes with him.

"Get in the car." Brooke ushered, rushing towards the passenger side and she climbed in just after Elena did before she locked the doors.

"Is he still there?" Elena panicked, looking through her side—view mirror, only for the man to have vanished, "Oh, my God." Elena ran a hand down her face as she stuck her keys into the ignition and Brooke leaned onto the centre console, looking through the back window.

"Phew, that was weird." Brooke let out a sigh of relief, glad he was gone and she sat back in her seat, reaching up to pull her seat belt on, only for the exact same man to be right next to her window, bent down and staring at Elena.

Brooke let out a scream, jumping back and Elena looked over, letting out a loud squeal as well.

"Drive! Drive! Go!" Brooke yelled, her wide, green eyes now on Elena, who turned the engine on in a rushed manner, quickly driving off with a squeal. Brooke leaned onto the centre console once again, watching the man stand up straight in the distance and slowly follow behind them.

"Who was that?" Elena asked, her voice filled with fear and she could've sworn she was about to cry. Brooke, however, was irritated, she didn't know who he was but she was determined to keep Elena as far away from him as possible.

"How am I supposed to know?" Brooke snapped, though it was clear she was panicked and Elena nodded, silently agreeing.

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BROOKE DECIDED TO HEAD BACK TO THE GRILL, Caroline had practically forced her to come and she was itching to speak with Matt. She was stood at one of the high tables where Caroline was sat, Matt stood just to their left. The Donovan was working, he was clad in his bright blue shirt Brooke was wearing earlier that day, with a towel draped over her shoulder.

"He's already been hit on, like, 35 times. He's total cougar bait." Caroline gushed, letting out a giggle and Brooke raised a brow, glancing over at Matt.

"By grown women?" She asked, slightly concerned but Matt just laughed it off, tightening his grip on the tray in his hands.

"It was embarrassing." Matt rolled his eyes and before Brooke could make a witty remark, Caroline sat up straight, a grin appearing on her lips.

"Hi, Mrs. Donovan!" The blonde spoke cheerily, overly enthusiastic towards the otherwise grumpy woman. Brooke's smile dropped, her eyes squinted and her expression turned to a glare, though she just lifted the straw of her cola to her lips, keeping her back turned to Kelly.

"Is that Elena?" Kelly grinned widely, completely ignoring Caroline's greeting as Elena strolled over, immediately being pulled into a hug.

"Hi, Kelly." Elena giggled, embracing Kelly tightly.

"Long time, no see."

"How are you?" Elena asked and Brooke rolled her eyes, noticing the saddened look on Caroline's face. The Elliot girl looked over at Matt, who had a look on his face that told Brooke that he knew what was happening, but didn't know how to react. They locked eyes, practically having a conversation through their eyes until Brooke slammed her glass down on the table, interrupting Kelly and Elena's conversation.

"You know, Kelly, you look so good for your age. You don't look a day over 50. Aren't you, like, 54?" Brooke asked, resting her elbow on the table and Kelly glared, clearly hurt by the insult.

"I'm 41." Kelly snapped, deadpanning and Brooke gasped, though it was all fake.

"Oh, shit. Sorry, I would've never been able to tell with all of those wrink—"

"Brooke, can I talk to you?" Matt cut her off and Brooke pouted, looking over at her best—friend.

"What? Now? It was just getting good, look how red she's gett—"

"Come on." Matt cut her off for the second time, grabbing ahold of her elbow and he dragged her away, not sparing a glance in the others' direction.

"You just made me leave Caroline all on her own with that bitch!" Brooke complained as Matt dragged her to the storage room, and he huffed, letting her go as soon as the door closed. He spun around, stress evident on his features and Brooke's expression softened at the sight, followed by her taking a step forwards and placing a hand on his fore—arm, "What's on your mind?"

"A lot. With Vicki gone, I'm struggling to do everything on my own. My mom's no help, per usual. The rent is being upped, I might have to get a second job and I'm not entire sure this thing with Caroline is gonna work." Matt vented, dragging a hand down the side of his face and Brooke let out a sympathetic sigh, watching him intently.

"Matt." She spoke stern, but gentle, her eyes on him and she waited patiently for him to finally look at her, waiting for him to have his entire attention on her, "I will help you. You need groceries? I'll get them for you. Need a loan? I'll give one to you. Need a hug? My arms are always open, dude. And with Caroline, I'm always here if you need me to express something to her, or if you need advice. I know Caroline, I know what she's like." She let out a snort, giving his arm a small squeeze and Matt smiled, grateful for her help.

"You're the most amazing person I've ever met, you know that?" Matt didn't give her time to respond, even though he'd taken her breath away, pulling her into his muscular arms. She let out a laugh, placing her hands on his upper—back, holding him tight, "I love you. You didn't give me the chance to say it back earlier."

"I love you, Matt, and don't you ever forget it." She grinned, rubbing his back comfortingly until he eventually pulled away, leaning down to kiss her cheek, "Now, if that's all, I have to go and help my other bestie." With that, Brooke smiled once more before she spun around, quickly making her way out of the storage room to find Caroline.

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BROOKE WAS SAT IN A STOOL TO THE SIDE OF THE GRILL, sipping on another cola as the bachelors were called up to the front, being interrogated by Carol Lockwood. Alaric, Damon and three other men were stood up as contestants, and Brooke couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight of Damon's smug smirk, wishing she could slap it right off of him.

"And what do you do, Bachelor Number 3?" Carol asked the man, who leaned forwards into the mic.

"Yeah, I'm a plumber."

"Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on." Carol dismissed, causing Brooke to roll her eyes for the second time, looking into the bottom of her glass as she sipped the last bit of her drink. When she realised it was empty, she slid off the high stool and left her glass, making her way over to the bar to order another when she collided with a body.

"Brooke." A familiar male voice spoke, his hands steadying her waist and she looked up, locking eyes with Stefan.

"Stefan, can you not look where you're going?" She almost snapped, trying to keep her calm and Stefan's brows scrunched together.

"You're still mad at me?" He asked, his look concerned but she took a step back, avoiding his gaze.

"No." She lied, and he could see right through her.

"Talk to me." He pleaded, though his voice was calm and filled with care, causing Brooke to roll her eyes, falling for it.

"Okay, then. What if you couldn't have gotten out of that tomb, huh? You would've been stuck in there forever, Stefan. Forever." She ranted, more frustrated than Stefan had ever seen her.

"I know, but I had to. I heard her scream." He defended, his eyes flickering over to Elena, who sat in front of the audience, completely oblivious to the two.

"You just jumped to conclusions without thinking, that's why you did it." She crossed her arms over her chest, squinting her eyes up towards him.

"No, I did it for love, Brooke." Stefan told her with a strong look, confident in his statement but she only let out a laugh of disbelief.

"Whatever." Brooke rolled her eyes and turned away from him, looking over at the crowd, the mic now held up to Damon.

"Actually, I think Alaric went to school there. Right, Ric? Yeah, because I know your wife did." Damon spoke, a teasing smirk on his lips as he looked over at Alaric, who was fuming. Elena perked up at the mention of her birth mother, "I had a drink with her once. She was, phew. She was a great girl. Did I ever tell you that? Because she was... delicious. Mm. Mm—mm—mm."

With that, Elena stood up and made her way towards the exit, squeezing past people. Brooke turned to her left, expecting Stefan to be stood there but when he wasn't, she let out a sigh. It really wasn't that expected.

An hour later, Brooke was sat beside Caroline at the raffle table, her knees pulled to her chest. To be completely honest, she was falling asleep but the sound of Kelly Donovan's name caused her to sit up, her eyes snapping open.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Donovan." Caroline smiled wide, her voice sweet and laced with so much kindness, a complete contrast to her usual self. Brooke smiled softly to her self, despite the fact that Kelly didn't deserve such politeness.

"Okay, just stop. Stop trying so hard. This thing you're doing, this nice thing? It's fake. Like you, like your mo—"

"And like your lips. Have a lovely day, Kelly." Brooke leaned forwards, her feet dropping to the ground and Kelly frowned, sending her a look.

"And you, I don't know what Matt sees in either of you but I'll never fall for it." Kelly snapped, her eyes narrowed, "I don't like you, and I don't like you. I don't like your mother, and I didn't like your mother." She now smiled smugly, watching as Brooke's hands curled into fists. She was biting her tongue, wanting nothing more than to leap at the woman.

"You want a broken nose?" Brooke stood up from the table, her nails carving into her palms due to the pressure and Caroline just watched with wide eyes, completely unsure of what to do. Kelly raised her brows, pretending to not be threatened at all whatsoever.

"I'd like to see you try." Kelly glared, leaning forwards as if to taunt the teenager but, just as Brooke's fist raised, a ring—covered hand was placed over her knuckles, pushing her hand back down gently.

"Hey." Stefan spoke, his voice gentle as he stared into her eyes, which were fixated on Kelly, "Brooke." He raised his voice just a tad, hoping to catch her attention and she rolled her eyes, locking eyes with him.

"What?" She snapped accidentally, though she wasn't about to apologise for it.

"Your brother's here." He told her and she looked over at the entrance, noticing Nate stood there in his construction gear, his hands stuffed in his pockets as a woman chatted him up.

Brooke looked away and at Caroline, sending the blonde a sympathetic smile, receiving one back in return. Then she looked at Kelly, who only scowled, "Continue neglecting your kids and I'll make sure no surgery will ever fix your crooked nose." Brooke snapped at the woman before she stormed off towards her brother, leaving the three stood there.

"Hey!" Nathan greeted as soon as she approached, saying a quick goodbye to the woman he was speaking to and she huffed, walking straight past him.

"I just want to go home." Brooke sighed, running a hand through her hair as he followed her outside. Nathan nodded in understanding, throwing his arm over her shoulder as they walked towards his car.

"You know, I wish I wasn't working today. I would've been an eligible bachelor." Nate smirked, ruffling her hair and she rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly.

"Yeah, that would've been a shit—show." Brooke let out a short laugh, watching as the headlights of the car flashed as Nathan unlocked the car. But, just as she curled her fingers around the handle, a loud crash was heard across the road outside of the Grill.

A man was run over by a truck, and it was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

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