UPDATED FROM JULY 2020

When the afternoon sun shone down on the Sexy Suds Carwash, the event was still going strong.

Aella looked up to see her adoptive aunt's car pull up, and Jenna getting out to pay Caroline. Aella left her position and jogged over to the two, "Hey Caroline,-" she looked pointedly at Jenna "-I think this car needs to be charged triple for lack of volunteering!"

"Hey!" Jenna exclaimed, shoving the brunette. "I got you three up this morning with coffee, I deserve a freebie!"

"Ha!" Aella scoffed out loud. She pocketed her cloth and sauntered over to the two deciding to put on a broad New York accent. Nodding her head over to Caroline, she told Jenna, "I'm sorry, but Mystic Falls' version of Miranda Priestly made it very clear this morning to us mere slaves. No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay ya laters. We are not running a charity here!"

Caroline pushed her out of the way with a tight grin and a nervous laugh when Aella's show started to attract the attention of paying customers, "Okay... that's enough now." She quickly lowered her voice and leaned down to Jenna, "Take her away, and you get the full workup for nothing."

Before Aella could object, Jenna pulled her away from the customers and back to their group, who had been watching the show with broad grins. Only one person could get under Caroline's skin like that and get away with it.

Jeremy moved over to Matt and Tyler, holding his hand out to them both, "Pay up, she lasted less than three hours before she got annoyed at Aella."

"Fifteen more minutes," Matt whined, slapping the $20 into Jeremy's hand. "Thanks, Aella!"

Bonnie giggled at his expression and looked over at Tyler, as Aella came over after hearing Jeremy's comment, "How long did you say Ty?"

"Four hours," he grumbled and practically threw the $20 at Jeremy.

"Aww, thanks, Ty." Aella cooed, grinning, and Tyler quickly bucked up. Still, his confidence was shot down when Aella snorted as she walked away, "But four hours was wayyyy too generous, ya dummy! Don't you know me?!"

Matt grimaced at Aella's sentence; it wasn't her fault that she didn't know Tyler had the biggest crush on her. To anyone else, that would have just been funny, but to Tyler, it was anything but as his face fell. "At least she smiled and thanked you." Matt tried to make his friend feel better.

Tyler sneered as he watched the brunette skip back over to Jenna, "Yeah, then called me dumb."

"Maybe it's time to face it, Ty," Bonnie smiled gently at him. "Aella just sees you as a friend, and she's really happy with Stefan. Why don't you focus on yourself and find someone who makes you happy." As she spoke, Bonnie missed as Matt's eyes glanced over at Caroline at her words.

Tyler grimaced at her truth, but agreed with a brief nod, "Yeah, you're right." At that moment, two cheerleaders walked past, and Tyler's eyes automatically drew to them, "Time to make me happy."

As he walked after them admiring the view from the back, Jeremy choked back a laugh as Matt slapped his back, and Bonnie shook her head.

"That's Tyler for you," Matt shrugged and went back to cleaning, leaving Jeremy and Bonnie alone.

Bonnie looked at him for the first time that day; it wasn't lost on the both of them that she was purposely ignoring his gaze every time he tried to meet hers. He had seen something she didn't even know was possible at the party, and she didn't know how to handle it.

Jeremy took a big breath, "Look, Bonnie. About what hap-"

"-Oh look, a new car," Bonnie interrupted him and started walking back to the car. "Talk soon, Jer."

When she had practically run away, Jeremy threw the cloth down into his bucket in frustration and returned to washing his designated car.

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Aella had just finished her car when she walked over to Jenna and Elena, who watched the WPKW9 News van park up and Logan with his cameraman and producer get out. "What's ScumFell doing here?"

Jenna just shrugged, and Elena suggested, "Slow day?"

Logan started talking to the camera. Jenna began to walk forward when Aella grabbed her hand, stopping her, "What are you doing?"

Jenna turned to Aella in confusion, "Going to get a better look, that okay, Mom?"

"No that's not okay," Aella frowned, ignoring the 'Mom' comment and looked to Elena batting her lashes at her. "Doesn't it look like she's chasing after him if she goes and stares longingly at him while he reports?"

"I do not stare longingly!" Jenna exclaimed, but at Elena's and Aella's unimpressed looks, she looked at them, now slightly deflated. "Do I?"

Elena hummed, about the sit on the fence, until Aella nudged her with her elbow, and she instead agreed, "You kinda do Aunt Jenna."

"No!" Jenna groaned, looking up at the sky in frustration. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Who's doing what to whom?" Stefan asked, stepping up to the group as Aella squinted up at the sky.

"I think Jenna is shouting at God again," Aella told him, still squinting at the sky, hoping for once there would be an answer.

Jenna whacked Aella on the arm, ignoring the brunette's 'ow!" "You make me sound like a crazy person." Jenna turned to Stefan, "Stefan, answer me this?"

"Go for it," Stefan nodded, throwing his towel over his shoulder.

"If you were, say a news anchor," Jenna started, ignoring Aella and Elena's snorts, as Stefan immediately looked over to Logan and back to her. "And a girl came over and leaned against your news van to watch you reporting, would you feel like that was admiring, or just being curious?"

Stefan hid his grin as Aella hid her laughing face in his back; Jenna was fooling no one, "She's leaned against the van?" Stefan confirmed as serious as he could with the giggling girl jostling him.

"Yes?" Jenna answered with uncertainty, as if just that action changed anything, while she glaring over at Elena. The latter now joined Aella behind Stefan, trying to hide her laughter.

"Sorry, Jenna," Stefan shrugged, chuckling when Aella exclaimed, 'Ha!' at Jenna. "Sound like she would be pretty interested."

"Well, shit!" Jenna glowered, then an idea popped into her head. "What if said girl and her niece's boyfriend casually walk over and watch. Would that be admiring, or curious?"

Stefan ignored Aella's whispers of' not to go to the dark side.' He nodded at his girlfriend's adopted aunt, "Yeah, I think that would be curious and not admiring."

There was only silence.

Stefan didn't expect Jenna's next move, but from the silence of Aella and Elena, they sure did.

"Great!" Jenna took hold of him and dragged him with her as she called over to Elena and Aella, "Suck it, girls!"

Aella frowned up at Elena, "She's our guardian?"

Elena could only shake her head at her aunt, "Apparently."

"Elena! Aella!" Caroline shouted at the two. "Back to work!"

"Yes, boss!" The two saluted Caroline and quickly ran to help Matt with a car, unaware of the camera pointed towards them.

"-All proceeds are going to the school's athletic department still healing from the tragic death of their football coach William Tanner. The citizens of Mystic Falls coming together in support of one of their own." Logan reported towards the camera, not noticing the twosome coming towards him.

"Cut it," he directed, handing off the microphone to his producer and then nudged his cameraman. The two of them shamelessly watched Elena and Aella as they bent over the silver car they were washing. Laughing dirtily, Logan nudged his cameraman, "You know Mike. It doesn't really matter what you say as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass on tv."

Jenna stopped in her tracks, halting Stefan with her. Stefan quickly let go of her hand as his free hand tightened on the towel over his shoulder. If he'd stayed holding Jenna's hand any longer, he would have broken it as his hand tightened into a fist. The Ripper in him was wanting just to tear the anchorman and his cameraman to pieces. He could feel his eyes darken a little and thought of calming images to stop his anger from revealing his true identity.

"Oh my god!" Jenna scowled, shaking her head, as Logan quickly turned to her direction in shock. The cameraman, noticing Stefan's prominent bulking form glaring at him, was quick to scurry away like the rodent he was. "Same old Logan ScumFell, you just don't change."

"J-Je-Jenna," Logan stuttered, but Jenna didn't give him a chance. "Cheating on me I could deal with, but perving on my two nieces-"

"-Nieces?-" Logan practically squealed.

"-Yes, nieces! Underage nieces! Or just teenagers in general, Logan! That is sick!" She actually felt physically sick in her mouth, "You make me feel sick. Try not to have a good day, Logan."

As Jenna stomped away to her car, Stefan stepped forward to Logan, a fake smile on his face.

"And you are?" Logan scowled, bravado returned as Jenna walked off. Yet, Stefan could smell the fear on him as he took in Stefan's height and muscles.

"I'm Stefan, I'm a big fan," he held his hand out, using every bit of his restraint not to break Logan's hand there and then. Logan nodded and put on his showbiz smile, shaking Stefan's hand, but that smile quickly turned to pain as Stefan tightened his grip and pulled Logan towards him.

"That girl you were just gawping at is my girlfriend and her best friend." Logan's cries of pain were silenced as Stefan held tighter, "If I see you looking at her, Jenna, or any other underage girls at this car wash, or any place, that way ever again. You'll never be able to hold a microphone with this hand again. You got that?"

Logan was silent, the pain his only focus, and Stefan tightened his grip to the point Logan's bones were feeling the strength, "I got it!" Logan practically screeched. When Stefan let go, he spun away and quickly jumped into the news van, telling the driver to 'just drive!' the wheels squealing as it drove away.

"You know," Stefan jumped at Aella's voice, turning to face the beaming smile of Aella as she jumped into arms. "If I didn't think I loved you before, I would most definitely now."

She rewarded her knight in shining armor with a kiss. Because sometimes, you may be a tough, independent woman, but every now and then, a knight in shining armor or a vampire boyfriend was allowed to be needed.

MYSTIC FALLS CEMETERY

"How is it, I feel so fucking alive, and I'm in a cemetery?" Vicki heard Jared laughing as she made her way over to her group of friends.

"Who's there?" Tony shouted.

Vicki made herself visible, stepping out from a large stone, waving a box of pills, "It's me, and I bring refreshments."

"Oh! Nice," Tony stood and took the bottle from her hands, examining it. "Vickies from Vicki. Ha!" He tossed them over to Summer.

"Well, thank you, Elena Gilbert, whoever you are," Summer laughed as she swallowed some of the pills, reading the label.

"I took them when I was visiting her brother," Vicki sat down next to Summer and swallowed some of the pills.

"Was it that wannabe goth, Jeremy?" Jared questioned, blowing the thick white smoke through his sneering grin.

Vicki nodded, glaring down at her phone, she had called both him and Tyler, but there was no answer, just their voicemails. She then remembered the CarWash and stood up, looking to her friends, "Anyone wants to go see some rich preppies clean some cars?"

SEXY SUDS CAR WASH

Jeremy was just finishing his side of the SUV he was cleaning when his eyes drifted over to Bonnie as she leaned over the green car she was drying. Jeremy bit his lip as he stared up and down her lean body in that brown bikini top and denim shorts.

"Now, is that really the best thing to be doing?" Matt said as he stepped next to Jeremy, making the younger boy jump.

Jeremy quickly got back to rinsing his car and casually asked, "Is what the best thing to be doing?"

Matt chuckled with a nod, he understood Jeremy, and he was not that close to be discussing that kind of stuff just yet. "Okay, dude. But if you stare at her any harder, it won't be just me who notices." Matt motioned over to Aella and Stefan; the small brunette was never far behind the latest gossip, primarily if it concerned her cousin and friend.

"Please" Jeremy shrugged the suggestion off as Aella started to kiss Stefan once more. Jeremy turned his head away from the gross sight, "As if Aella can take her attention away from Stefan's mouth that long."

"I don't know, dude," Matt shrugged, walking backward to help Bonnie finish. "Those Bennett girls are perceptive."

Jeremy only nodded and went to turn his water back on when he thought over Mat's words, 'those Bennett girls are perceptive.' He quickly glanced over at Aella and then back to Bonnie, his mind working over. Could Aella do what Bonnie did? He scoffed at the thought. He didn't even know what Bonnie did, let alone if Bonnie did something. Plus, Aella keeping something that big from anyone? She was a walking, talking mouth; she could never keep a secret. Instead, he turned his attention back to rinsing his car every few seconds, glancing at Bonnie's firm backside.

Tiki stood glaring at Stefan and Aella as they kissed next to the shining BMW convertible they had just finished washing. They had been kissy and cuddly and just was too O.T.T since they had started this shit show. What did Stefan see in the crazy midget anyway? It was Tiki that was 6'2 with the glowing skin and perfect figure. What did that white Bennett girl have that she didn't?! "Why do the golden couple get the convertibles, and we get the homely ones?"

Bonnie just ignored her; Tiki wasn't the only girl from the cheerleading squad that had spent most of their day glaring at Aella for taking the hottest thing to come into Mystic Falls... ever. A car drove up to Tiki's spot, and Bonnie pointed to it, "Mm-hmm. Oh. Tiki. This one's yours."

Tiki scowled and turned her jealousy of Stefan kissing Aella, and the anger at Bonnie ordering her about, towards the customer that had just driven up to her group. "Just to be clear, your car's a P.O.S. I mean, we can wash it, but it's still a P.O.S."

"You don't have to be rude."

Jeremy looked over as he heard Bonnie's frustration as she snapped at Tiki. Still, the tall cheerleader took no notice and belittled the driver some more, "Rude is uglying up the road with that junk."

Jeremy wanted to look away, but for some reason, something in the back of his mind told him he shouldn't. He watched as Tiki bent over the bucket of suds and inserted the hose to fill the bucket some more when he noticed how hard Bonnie was staring down at Tiki. Suddenly the tube exploded, sending a force of water at Tiki. Jeremy dropped his pipe and ran over to Tiki with Matt as they tried to wrestle the hose from spraying in Tiki's face. Yet, Jeremy didn't miss the look of surprise on Bonnie's face at the occurrence. How she quickly returned to the car she was working on while everyone else stared on.

"What the hell?" Tiki screamed, bringing Jeremy's attention back to her and Matt as Matt finally got hold of the hose.

"Wet and Wild, Tik," Matt smirked, handing the cheerleader a towel; he had also heard what Tiki had been saying. As he and Jeremy walked off, the whole lot laughed at Tiki, and he nudged Jeremy, "Karma's a bitch, right?"

Jeremy laughed with him as he glanced back at Bonnie, the only one not smiling or even looking at Tiki, "Right."

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Aella walked over to Caroline, who was taking some money from a customer, and sat next to the blonde, "This has been a really successful day Care. I'm proud of you."

Caroline smiled with excitement, "And thank you for making everyone so scared of you that they either are cleaning cars or have brought their car here to be cleaned."

Aella, mock bowed, "I try my best."

Caroline pulled Aella into a hug, smiling when Aella's arms automatically wrapped around her. "We're a good team, aren't we?"

"Always," Aella smiled, pecking her best friend on the cheek. "Now do you want to hear how Stefan nearly broke Logan Scumfell's hand earlier?"

Caroline pulled away, face lit up, "Oh my god! Spill, now!"

"Well, Elena and I-"

"-Sorry, A, no time for a gossip session," Elena smiled guiltily as she stepped in front of the table. "Hey, Care. We're out of towels, and those shimmy things."

"I'm on it," Caroline nodded firmly, head back in business. "Aella, can you handle the money while Elena and I get more supplies?"

Aella saluted as Caroline stood up, "You can trust me, boss."

Caroline thought over the responsibility she was placing on her best friend and was about to switch Aella with Elena when Stefan came over. "Oh thank god. Stefan, you help Aella with the money. Thanks! Bye!"

When Stefan took Caroline's seat Aella was pouting, "It's like I'm not responsible or something?" But she couldn't hold the pout for long and laughed out loud, "She knows me so well."

"Too well," Stefan nodded and pulled the money box towards him. He knew Aella would either knock it over, shortchange, or even give someone back too much money because she was chatting with them about their dogs, kids, cats, imaginary friends, and got distracted. That's the Aella, Caroline knew, and Stefan was happily discovering.

He was just organizing the money, so the large bills were at the bottom of the lock boss when he heard Aella happily greet some, "Good afternoon, Sir, that will be $20." He could hear the person shuffling around, and the old voice talked to his girlfriend, "I've only got $50, can you change?"

"We sure can, Sir. Stefan?" He looked over at his girlfriend, who waved the $50 bill in his face, both not noticing the old man take in a gasp of air in surprise. "Can you change this, please?"

"I know you," the old man gasped, and the couple quickly turned their heads towards him. "My God!"