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

‧˚꒰🍷꒱༘‧—

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'✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ BROOKE AVOIDED KELLY AND DAMON AS MUCH AS SHE COULD, even when Jenna happened to join them and no matter how much she wanted to drag the poor Sommers woman away from the two demons, she didn't. The alternative being she kept her eyes on her the entire night.

She was holding five cokes, two lemonades and an apple juice on a singular tray, somehow, and when she approached her friends' table, she almost dropped the entire tray onto the floor beside the booth, "Shit, shit, shit!" She rushed out, trying to stabilise herself.

Suddenly, the tray was gracefully taken from her hands and let out a huge sigh, locking eyes with Stefan, "Thank the heavens." She muttered, regaining her breath.

"Don't you mean thank Stefan?" Elena asked from the booth, her hand tucked under her chin and Brooke sent her cousin a glare, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, thank you, Stefan. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go and finish someone else's shift." Brooke carefully took the tray back from Stefan as she squinted her eyes towards Matt, who held his hands up in surrender, causing Caroline and Elena to giggle.

"She's working your shift?" Stefan asked the Donovan as he slid back into the booth, his eyes following Brooke's frame as she hesitantly placed the cokes on another table nearby, her voice filling his mind.

"Yeah, she offered. She's just being dramatic." Matt shook his head as another conversation broke out about Elena and Matt knowing each other since they were in diapers. And whilst Stefan tried his hardest to listen, he couldn't keep his mind off of Brooke.

She was tired, yet she was putting all of her energy into everything. That was Brooke Elliot, always sacrificing herself for others but never giving herself the chance to live, to do the things she enjoyed.

About half an hour later, Brooke was cleaning down the bar from beside Kelly, Jenna and Damon when the former approached her, a drunken smirk on his lips, "You look hot in your uniform." He teased, leaning against the bar beside her and she scrunched her face up in disgust.

"Blegh, I will never fall for that again." Brooke tucked the cloth she was using into her apron and grabbed the anti—bacterial spray from atop the counter. Damon's smirk dropped and he stood up straight, clearly feeling sensitive.

"Oh, come on!" Damon held his hands out in disbelief and Kelly stumbled over, placing a hand on the Salvatore's shoulder.

"Don't waste your time on her, she's a bitch just like her mother." Kelly spoke, slurring on her words and just like that, Brooke felt her fists curl up, her fingers squeezing around the nozzle of the spray bottle. Kelly and Miranda Gilbert — Brooke's Aunt — were best—friends all throughout high—school and Brooke would always remember the stories of when Kelly would continuously attempt to leave Mary Gilbert out every chance she had. Nobody knew why, Kelly was just a raging bitch herself.

"You're lucky I'm on duty, otherwise you'd be flying across this room in the space of a second." Brooke snapped, quickly rushing across the restaurant towards Stefan and Matt playing pool, Elena and Caroline nowhere in sight, "Guys, I need a drink." She dropped the spray bottle to the floor and quickly took Caroline's coke, downing the last few sips of it.

"Woah, what happened?" Matt asked as he watched Brooke slam the glass down on the pool table's edge, causing it to shatter in her hand, blood immediately spilling onto the floor, "Brooke!" As Matt only drew more attention to them, Brooke felt her eyes watering as she quickly grabbed the cloth from her apron, pressing it against her glass—covered palm.

Suddenly, Stefan was at her side, taking her bloodied hand in his, "This needs to be looked at." Stefan explained but Brooke immediately shook her head, pulling her hand from his though her brows were furrowed. This is happening again, why isn't he affected by my blood?

"No, no. I'll just rinse it under some water." Brooke rushed out, holding her own hand with the other as she ran off before anybody could speak another word, heading straight into the bathroom.

"Brooke? Oh, my God. What happened?" Caroline immediately stood up straight from where she was stood behind Elena, her eyes wide towards the small wounds in Brooke's hand.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna kill that Donovan bitch." Brooke snapped, clearly enraged as she pushed past Elena mindlessly, letting out a quiet yelp when the wounds stung under the cold water in the sink.

"Jeez, you mean Kelly?" Elena dried her own hands on the towel nearby as Caroline squeezed beside Brooke, helping her pull the tiny pieces of glass from out of the Elliot's hand.

"Of course she means Kelly. All that woman has done since she's come back is be pretty fucking rude to me and Brooke. You wouldn't know because everyone likes you, Elena. Just stop with all the pick—me bullshit, it's getting tiring!" Caroline practically screeched, letting all of her anger out and Brooke stayed quiet, wincing as Caroline aggressively tugged all of the glass out of her hand.

"Care! Ow!" Brooke yelped, pulling back to inspect her hand when Caroline tugged a little too hard.

"What?" Caroline snapped accidentally at her best—friend, looking at the girl's hand.

"It's fine. I just need to stop the bleeding." Brooke explained, walking into one of the toilet cubicles to grab some tissue from one of the rolls. She carefully placed the paper towel onto her hand, wincing a little when it stung a little more. Blood and water spread across the tissue instantly, she just hoped it would stop eventually.

When she exited the cubicle, Caroline was gone and Elena was still stood there, her arms crossed over her chest. Brooke sent one look in the Gilbert's direction before she turned, moving to make her way towards the exit with her hand still pressed over the other when she heard Elena's voice.

"Brooke."

Brooke paused and spun around, smiling slightly towards her cousin she wasn't as close to anymore, "Hm?"

"Do you agree with Caroline? Am I a suck—up?" Elena stared at the ground, feeling sorry for herself and Brooke had to hold back a scoff. She glanced down at her hand, which Elena failed to care about, before looking back over at the taller girl.

"Sometimes, but aren't we all?" Brooke attempted to comfort her, letting out a silent sigh of relief when Elena smiled, nodding in agreement.

"I suppose so. Let's go." Elena placed her hand on Brooke's shoulder as they left, the older girl trailing behind the younger, lifting the dampened paper towel just slightly to see the scratches upon her hand. They weren't that bad, they just needed a few plasters.

And, when she looked up, arms wrapped around her torso and hands were placed over her mouth, pulling her away from the restaurant and through the back doors.

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BROOKE WAS HELD UP STRAIGHT, her wounded hand up to a pair of fangs and she scrunched her brows, the lights in the room too bright for comfort. She blinked a few times, her head spinning and her hand stinging excruciatingly.

"You might want to stop that if I were you." A woman's voice spoke up loudly in Brooke's ears and all the commotion on the room paused. She let out a groan as the fangs slipped from her hand, two small holes now left in her palm, "This little girl's delicious, but I've noticed she means something to you both."

"She doesn't mean anything to me." Damon snarled, rolling his eyes as he dug the stake he held in his hand deeper into another vampire's chest, the tip almost touching his heart.

"Damon." Stefan warned from across the room, slightly hunched over and out of breath from being thrown into the bookcase. The woman smirked, her grip tight around not only Brooke's wrist, but her waist as well.

"That's what I thought." She snapped and Brooke's eyes finally opened, scanning the living room of the Salvatore Boarding House, the entire place a mess. Furniture was broken and the window was shattered to pieces.

"Stefan..." Brooke groaned out, her body felt weak, drained of blood and all energy. Her legs could hardly keep herself up as she continuously went limp, being forced to stand by the unknown woman holding her up.

"Shut your mouth." The woman snapped once more, clearly angered as Damon slowly moved the stake from the man's chest, "That's it. Let him go."

Damon internally cursed himself and his brother for letting Stephen, one of the tomb vampires, go, but it he did it nonetheless, releasing his hold on the older vampire and allowing Stephen to drop to the ground in agony.

"This is gonna bite me in the ass." Damon stated as he dropped the stake to the floor, holding his hands up in mock surrender as Brooke's eyes closed, drifting in and out of consciousness.

And it seemed as if Damon was right for the first time as Stephen suddenly stood back up, grabbing the stake and rushing to push it into Damon's stomach. The aforementioned vampire dodged the attack, immediately fighting back. Stefan's eyes snapped over to Brooke, watching as she looked right at him, letting out a scream when fangs now sunk into her neck.

"Fuck! Ow!" Brooke screeched, attempting to fight back but her body was far too weak to even try. Stefan sped over in an instant, the sound of her pain and cries for help enough to cause his feet to jump across the room.

He ragged Bethanne away from Brooke and she slowly dragged herself against the wall, pressing her back against it with her hand held against her work shirt. Her apron has vanished from around her waist, she noticed, but she was too worried about Stefan being thrown onto the coffee table to care.

"God." She winced as she watched Damon being stabbed in the stomach with that stake, as much as she didn't like the older Salvatore brother, she had to admit that it looked extremely painful.

Everything was happening way too quickly for the poor human girl to comprehend, her eyes flickering around the room, her vision slightly blurry but when she heard the sound of a woman groaning and a man's cry, she knew what had happened.

Bethanne was lying dead in the middle of the living room, a stake punctured straight through her heart and Stephen quickly sped out of the room, knowing he was outnumbered and would die if he stayed.

As soon as they were out of danger, Stefan stepped over Bethanne's body with a hint of disrespect and quickly knelt down beside Brooke, his hand on her shoulder and his eyes locked onto her face.

"Are you okay?" 

"Of course not, dumbass." Brooke rolled her eyes with a slight shake of her head and Stefan grinned, placing both of his hands on either side of her waist, effortlessly lifting her up onto her feet. He stood beside her, one arm around her waist, allowing her to lean into his side.

"Bastards." Damon muttered as he looked out the broken window, his fingertips tracing the sharp edge of the glass and Brooke rolled her eyes once again.

"Could you clean this all up?" Stefan asked his brother as he began to guide Brooke towards the staircase and Damon waved his hand in the air, gesturing that he would and to not worry about it.

"Have I gone pale? I feel like I've gone pale." Brooke mumbled to her best—friend, stumbling beside him down the hallway and Stefan turned his head, giving her a one—over.

"Well, you're paler than usual." He joked, turning the corner when he noticed her stumble over herself.

"Ha. Ha." She scoffed, trying to keep her head up straight and they came to a halt in front of the stairs, well, Stefan did, "Why have we stopped?" She questioned, her thin brows knitted together.

"Because no way in hell are you gonna be able to get up these stairs." Stefan explained and before she could comprehend what he'd told her, she was scooped up off of her feet, being carried in the vampire's arm bridal style.

"That hurt my head." She muttered, her face scrunched up in pain and her head resting against his chest as he carefully carried her up the stairs, step by step. It was silent for a few moments until Brooke decided to speak up again, "Hey, I have a question."

"Throw it at me." Stefan replied with confidence, not a single worry laced in his tone as he headed towards one of the guest bedrooms.

"How come you aren't affected by my blood? Like, you aren't afraid to come near me when I'm hurt." Brooke stared at the side of his face as he kicked the door open, switching on one of the vintage lamps which sat on a shelf by the door.

"Uh..." Stefan hesitated, he was taken aback by her random question, though it wasn't really that random. He hadn't noticed the times he'd recklessly steered too close to his newfound best—friend when she was bleeding, actually, he hadn't noticed at all.

"Of course, you don't have to answer right away. It's just confusing, that's all." Brooke let out a sigh, her wounded hand held close to her stomach as he just stood there, stuck in his thoughts.

"I don't know..." Stefan began to move again, his brooding forehead making a return as he set her down on the side of bed, her legs dangling off the side. He sped across the room and searched one of the cabinets for alcohol or bandages.

"Has this ever happened with anybody else? Elena, perhaps?" She swung her legs lightly, her hand now held in her lap as her eyes scanned the large, vintage painting — which she could only assume would cost a fortune — hanging on the wall across from her.

"Uh, no. The second time we met, she had tripped and grazed her leg, it affected me immediately." Stefan explained as he made his way back over to her, setting a few medical supplies down on the bed beside her. Her eyes moved back over to him as he kneeled down in front of her, holding his own hand out hesitantly.

"Then... I'm still confused." Brooke squeezed her eyes closed momentarily, trying to get her brain to work properly, to think up some kind of reasonable explanation for why he wasn't as affected by the smell or sight of her blood. But, as soon as she moved her hand from her lap, the wounds covered in slightly dried blood along her hand and wrist now on show, Stefan felt his teeth begin to ache and his eyes to sting.

Brooke quickly pulled her hand back as Stefan spun around, his vampiric face now visible but he was determined to hide that from her, the girl he loved more than most things. Elena was persistent, it was easier to show his true self to her but with Brooke, it was different. It was as if he was scared to let her see his monstrous side, he had no choice but to tell her he was a vampire all those months ago. But, now, there was a choice, he wasn't obligated to do this.

But, when her okay hand was placed on his shoulder, he felt his negative thoughts fade away, "Brooke..." Stefan mumbled, shaking his head as she felt her hand tug him backwards. He looked down whilst she pulled his body back around to face her again, a look of sympathy spread across her features, but not only sympathy, also care, worry, concern, and most of all, the one emotion she feared: love.

Her fingers lifted his chin up and his darkened eyes locked onto hers. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen a vampire's face before, she knew what it looked like, it was quite terrifying if she was being honest to herself. But, Stefan wasn't as scary as she'd imagined — the veins which slithered down from his eyes to his cheeks, the red replacing the white in his eyes, it felt normal.

"You don't have to hide from me, Stefan." Brooke smiled softly, patting his cheek in the most gentle way possible in case she hurt him but he only stared back at her, speechless and without thought, "I will admit, you're pretty fucking scary. But, you've already proven that you'd never hurt me."

"Never in my entire lifetime." Stefan muttered back whilst his veins slithered back into his eyes, which transformed back to their normal colour and his fangs slid back up into his gums. Damon's voice sounded out throughout the walls and Brooke pulled her hand from Stefan's cheek, smiling softly.

"Go, I'll somehow do this on my own." She let out a short—lived laugh, turning to grab one of the antiseptic wipes and Stefan stood up, rolling his shoulders.

"Are you sure?" He raised a brow, his eyes locked onto her bloodied hand which she held close to her stomach and she laughed one more time.

"No. Just go, Stef." She rolled her eyes playfully and Stefan's heart warmed at the nickname, a smile tugging at his lips as he quickly made his way to his moaning brother.

Now, sat all alone in a probably haunted bedroom, she let out a weak sigh and began to clean the wounds not only on the palm of her hand caused by herself, but the two fang marks in her wrist, letting out small gasps of pain every time she pressed the wet wipe over the damaged skin.

"I hate vampires." She muttered to herself, letting out a yelp as she felt a piece of glass beneath her skin, "I hate Kelly." She whispered again, reaching over again to grab another antiseptic wipe, "I hate everything."

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AME SPEAKS !
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I was so motivated to write this chapter because of this beautiful manip -novxscomet made for Starring Role, I'm honestly so obsessed I might just pass out.

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I love her so much!! And if you haven't already, please go and check out her profile and her works, she's so talented and just incredible altogether!

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