MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL

The next day Aella stared at Tanner as he went on and on about some battle. The audience of her two most precious stuffed animals, SuperTed and AnnieB, had demanded six encores of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Aella was exhausted, seriously regretting those six encores, the only thing that was coming out of Tanner's mouth was, 'Blah, blah blah blah blah blah.' She really hoped Elena was making notes.

Feeling someone's stare on her, she glanced to her right only to be met with Stefan's gorgeous face. He had been in her dreams last night. However, most dreams didn't end with the two dancing with Mary and Burt pens, singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Stefan smiled at her, mouthing, ' Hi .' Aella giggled to herself before mouthing back the same greeting, ' Hi .'

"The Battle of Willow Creek occurred right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Tanner questioned, making Aella's eyes move from Stefan to Tanner.

"Which one?" She questioned instantly.

Tanner, as per usual, did not look impressed, "Bonnie?"

"Um... a lot?"

Aella turned quickly to smug at her cousin, who obviously didn't know the answer as she went into further detail, "I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

The class sniggered, her cousin the loudest, as the frown line on Tanner's forehead started to form, "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Bonnie. Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype? "

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner," Matt waved him off coolly. "I'm cool with it."

Aella turned to the athlete, quickly flexing her arms at Matt, "Muscles!"

"Muscles!" Laughed Matt copying her back.

"I saw that!" Caroline scolded Aella at the Full House reference. She needed to fix that contract now!

Tanner did not look amused, but he never did with Aella in his class. "Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?"

"I'm sorry, I--I don't know."

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal-"

"-Wait! I feel something" Aella stood up, holding her head.

Tanner literally groaned out loud at the interruption, dropping his chin to his chest... he hated kids. Stefan looked around in confusion as everyone else in the class either smirked or laughed or, in Elena's case, sighed in relief at her crazy best friend saving her... Again.

He saw Aella's hand waving someone behind and turned to see Matt's smirk drop, and his eyes widened almost comically. "And what Mystic Lia is that something?"

"I see... I see... I seeeee..." She was physically shaking, and Stefan couldn't help but chuckle as the rest of his class laughed. "Nineteen hundred and thirty-two point one!" She collapsed onto her chair, breathing heavily, "Oh, that was a strong episode! I think I may have to go to the nurse, Mr. Tanner."

The vein on Tanner's forehead was now almost throbbing, a sure sign he was going to explode, "The only place you'll be going Allena is Dete-"

"-There were 346 casualties," Stefan interrupted Tanner, smirking when Aella looked over at him in shock. "Unless you're counting local civilians."

"Th-That's correct." Tanner looked shocked, so shocked he forgot about what happened and switched his attention to Stefan. "Mister...?"

"Salvatore," He smiled, winking at Aella, who sniggered to herself.

"Salvatore," Tanner's brow raised. "Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

"Someone's got a crush," Aella muttered to herself, which Tanner heard and started glaring at Aella again.

"Distant," Stefan confirmed, drawing attention back to him and away from Aella.

"Well, very good..." Tanner nodded until a smug smile turned to Stefan. "Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

Stefan sat up, "Actually, there were 27, sir."

Aella looked between the two wide-eyed like she was watching a ping pong match. Stefan had saved her ass and was now showing up Tanner.

"Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons," Stefan began explaining calmly. The class became more and more interested in Tanner's demeanor. "They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in Civil Hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

He smirked at his teacher, not missing Aella's bright smile as she smacked her desk, "Burn!"

As the class sniggered at him, Tanner glared at his new-not-so-favorite, "Hmm."

The bell rang, and Aella, knowing Tanner's evilness, quickly grabbed Stefan's arm and pulled him out of the room into the corridor, slamming him into the lockers. She smiled up at him brightly as Stefan regained his composure at the small brunette's strength.

She happily laughed out loud, "You! Are my new hero." Pecking his check softly, she whispered in his ear, "I'll see you tonight." Before pulling back and skipping off down the corridor, leaving a very shocked Vampire standing there.

MYSTIC FALLS WOODS

Aella jumped down from the mossy hill. She had stumbled down, wondering how the hell the dumb party girls in their heels had gotten down to the woods party without breaking their necks.

"Aella!"

Speaking of.

"Caroline!" Aella turned, smiling at her blonde best friend. Her eyes couldn't help but drift down towards Caroline's feet, smirking when she saw her best friend was wearing the highest heels she owned.

"Look how hot you look!" Caroline squealed, hugging Aella.

Aella frowned in her arms, "Thanks... I think?"

Caroline sniggered, and Aella looked up confused at her best friend's giddiness, "Spin for me!" Caroline demanded, spinning Aella around.

Aella giggling during the spin, laughing as her white flowy top puffed out from the wind. She didn't expect the second spin, which made her stumble into arms that definitely did not belong to Caroline.

"Are you okay?"

Aella looked up into the hypnotizing eyes of Stefan, "You are not Caroline!"

His lips quirked, "Surprised?"

"Happily!" Aella laughed, still in his arms.

She glanced down, enjoying the protective feeling of being in his arms. As if he was overstepping a line, Stefan pulled away, "Sorry."

"It's no problem," Aella smiled, fixing her hair. She pointed at him with a false seriousness, "But don't think me falling into your arms means anything! I am a lady you see," she tutted playfully, fixing her top as she rose a brow at Stefan's smile.

"So, what did you do to Tanner to make him dislike you so much?" Stefan asked her.

"Have you met me?" She threw back sarcastically, "Tanner hates anyone that he can't scare. Plus, the stupid idiot can't pronounce my name right!"

"I noticed that," Stefan tried to hide his smirk, she noticed.

"It's not funny!" She pouted at him, but due to his teasing smile, her pout quickly dissolved into a giggle, and she nodded in defeat, "Okay, it's a little funny."

"Aelena? Is that what he calls you?"

"Aelena, Aellala, Girl, You!" She counted off on her fingers.

"I like Aella," Stefan grinned, which made her melt on the spot.

"I like Stefan, very masculine!" She then smirked and held her arms up, "Muscles!"

Stefan couldn't help himself and quickly copied her while chuckling out loud, "Muscles!"

They both laughed together, ignoring the looks everyone was giving them.

"You know I'm not usually this free," Stefan told her once their laughter had settled down, broad smiles remained on their faces. "I'm quite reserved, but you bring out a different side to me. How do you do that?"

Aella shrugged a faint reddish stain covering the apple of her cheeks, "I don't know... I'm just myself, I discovered too late that life is so fragile." She looked to the ground then up at Stefan biting her lip, "But I like that I can do that."

"Me too," His smile caught hers. "Do you want a drink?"

Aella nodded, she noticed Jeremy sat on his own under the wooden pavilion chugging back a beer. "Just water, please. I'm DD tonight."

Stefan nodded, and Aella motioned to Jeremy, "I'm just gonna go play annoying adopted sister police."

Stefan looked over his shoulder and stared at the moody teenager before turning back to Aella, nodding, "I'll take my time finding that water."

Aella spotted Elena by herself, walking their way, "Or you could have some company to lead the way. Elena!" Elena looked up at her name and joined the two, hugging Aella immediately. "E, do you mind showing Stefan where the water is while I speak to our very own Snoop Dogg?!"

Elena quickly glanced over her shoulder, guiltily, "I saw him but didn't know if I should shout at him or leave him?"

"No need," Aella shook her head. "Leave him to me, do you mind showing Stefan where the Aqua is?" She motioned to Stefan, who had moved closer to her so they could both look at Elena.

Elena smiled slyly, knowing this was her chance to interrogate Stefan without Aella there to butt in, "Absolutely!"

Stefan and Elena quickly grabbed some drinks for themselves and water for Aella. They walked to the bridge to wait for Aella to return.

"You know, you're kind of the talk of the town," Elena smiled, taking a sip of her drink.

Stefan's brow raised, "Am I?"

"Mmm-hmm," She nodded, laughing out loud. "Usually, it's something Aella has said or done, but a new mysterious guy... doesn't get better than that."

Stefan smirked, "Compared with Aella, I feel proud."

"You should be," Elena laughed, he would quickly learn there weren't very many like Aella Bennett.

"She's um..." Stefan bit his and worded carefully, "unique."

"Nicely put," Elena smirked at him. "Aella is unique, but she's also the best friend any person could have."

"I can see that."

"It's such a cliché thing to say," Elena shrugged, looking over the bridge. "It doesn't feel like that statement gives her enough credit. She's lost two sets of parents and can still smile every day."

Stefan smiled sadly at her, "Aella mentioned your parents kinda adopted her."

"More like she became their favorite child," Elena smirked. "And Jeremy and I didn't care. She wanted to hang with them as much as she could, the moments we took for granted. Cooking, gardening, shopping, cleaning, even stupid family games and movies; she did it all." Elena looked up at Stefan, and he could see tears beginning to fill her eyes, "I didn't realize why she would want to do all that until... until we lost them. Then we realized, any moment was precious. Aella learned that the hard way, and unfortunately, so did we. Anyway, you don't want me to go on, it's... it's not exactly party chit-chat."

"Well, I've never really been very good at, uh, chit-chat," Stefan started then unconsciously smiled to himself, "Except when I'm with Aella, it's so strange."

Elena didn't miss the smile and took a mental note at the moment, "Last spring... My parents' car drove off a bridge into the lake. And I was in the backseat, and I survived, but...they didn't. So that's it."

"You won't be sad forever, Elena. Especially with Aella around."

Elena laughed out loud, taking a sip of her drink, "Exactly!"

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Aella watched Elena lead Stefan away and headed over to Jeremy. He was just about to take another sip when Aella snuck the beer from his grasp, taking a sip.

"Hey-" he started demanding when he saw who now held his beer.

Aella smirked at him, taking another sip from the beer and handing it back to him. Just as his hand was about to grasp it, she let it go, both watching it fall to the ground and smashed to pieces.

She looked over at him, shocked, "I'm so sorry!" But Jeremy knew that emotion was as fake as Jenny Callow's hair color.

"Like hell, you are!" He shoved her as the shocked look quickly turned into giggles.

Aella motioned with her head to the woods, "Let's go for a walk."

Jeremy stood up, looking forlornly at his beer and the full chest of beers before jogging over to the small brunette who wasn't even waiting for him.

The duo started walking on the trail they both knew circled back to the party. Aella placed her arm in Jeremy's, missing the smile from the teenage boy at the gesture, "So... eyes don't look so sore."

Jeremy ignored Aella's smug smile and laughed to himself, "Surprisingly, I didn't feel like an extra kick tonight."

"I'm proud of you!"

Jeremy shrugged off the praise looking down as a blush appeared on his face, "I think I'd be off the rails if you weren't here Lia, you understand what I feel. Elena was in the car she feels completely different, but you were like me, we were just at home-"

"-and had that knock on the door," Aella nodded sadly, remembering that moment as if it was yesterday. She would never forget that moment. "You're right, I do know, but that doesn't mean Elena isn't feeling the same pain. Even Jenna. She lost her big sister, could you imagine losing Elena-

"-or you?"

Aella actually teared up and quickly jumped up and down, changing to silly Aella before he saw the tears, but he did.

"Ahhhhhh, Baby J, you do love me!" Aella grabbed him around the neck and pulled him down to her level as his arms reached round to her waist to steady himself, giving her a squeeze of comfort. Aella appreciated the extra hard hug he gave her as she just took in that comfort she gave him.

They just reached the halfway point, and we're now walking arm in arm again when they heard rustling and voices.

When they heard the voices become more apparent and more recognizable, they stopped.

" No! I said, no! "

Aella and Jeremy recognized the voice immediately as Vicki Donovan's. They glanced at each other in shock before running in the direction they heard her to help.

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Tyler finally had Vicki, where he wanted, away from everyone else, and against a tree alone.

He started kissing her neck, and Vicki laughed, obviously having as much fun as him until she ruined the mood completely, "No, Ty. I'm not having sex against a tree."

Tyler ignored her, thinking she was just playing hard to get, "Oh, come on, it would be hot."

"For who?" Vicki scowled and started pushing Tyler away, "No, it's not going to happen." But he wasn't taking that for an answer and continued to force her harder into the tree, his hands reaching up to pull on her top.

"It's not going to happen, not here, not like this," Vicki told him, shaking her head. Tyler was now going too far, and the pain in her back was starting to burn as her voice overflowed with fear. "No. I said no. I said, no! Ow, that hurts!"

"Hey, leave her alone!"

Vicki sighed in relief at hearing Jeremy's voice until she saw who was running behind him, Aella.

Tyler stepped back at his voice and turned to Jeremy, not seeing the brunette behind him, "You know you're starting to get on my nerves, Gilbert!"

Aella stepped in front of Jeremy so quickly that Tyler didn't notice until he was pushed back, and he saw the brunette's angry face. "What about me, Ty? What if I want to start something?"

Tyler smirked, wiping the wetness from Vicki's gloss off his lips, "I'm always willing to start something with you, Allie!"

Aella scowled, disappointed in her friend, "Ew! You know what you need to do is take your drunk little bitch ass home before I find Matt, and he can see what his best friend is doing to his sister."

Tyler stepped forward, trying to intimidate Aella when Vicki stepped in his way, pushing him back, "Just go, Tyler. Get the hell away from me."

"Wow." Tyler laughed maliciously, looking between Vicky, Jeremy, and Aella, his voice cocky, but his body language shocked at the rejection. "Vicki Donovan says no. That's a first."

"Get the hell out of here, Tyler!" Aella scowled, pushing him away before he made any more stupid remarks.

Vicki looked at them, and Aella was surprisingly surprised when Vicki scowled at them, "I didn't need your help!"

Aella scoffed as Jeremy smirked, "It seems like you did."

"And if Matt found out that I did nothing..." Aella chimed in earring darker glare from Vicki. "And gives me that puppy dog look of hate, I would seriously just die! Look, Vick, Tyler's not good enough for you." She turned to Jeremy, "Get her some water, and find Matt."

Aella shook her head at Vicki once more, this time in disgust, before pushing past the drug addict heading back to Stefan.

As Aella left the trail, she and Jeremy had walked she headed to where she could see Elena and Stefan chatting on the bridge.

"-and then, my parents died." She heard Elena say to Stefan and wondered if she was barging in on a private conversation, "And everything changes."

Elena saw Aella hesitantly walking over to them and waved her over, grinning brightly at her, "Until someone like Aella steps into your life and changes it for the better."

Stefan looked over his shoulder and smiled dazzlingly at seeing Aella again, who he could already feel was approaching, filling him with happiness.

"Elena, you're probably my best friend in the whole world now," Aella laughed, pulling Elena into a strong side hug. "No pressure!"

Elena laughed, stepping back from Aella, looking over to the couple as Stefan seemed to be drawn to her best friend's side like a magnet. "I better go see Matt, he's been shooting looks my way all evening."

Aella raised an eyebrow pursing her lips in annoyance, "Well, you better be quick because J and I just stopped Tyler almost forcing himself on Vicky. It got a bit tense."

Stefan tensed up himself and turned to look at Aella, concerned, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Aella waved off. "Ty's a wimp that wishes he could have a piece of this!" She smirked, but Stefan still didn't relax, she turned to Elena, "I told J to get her water and take her to Matt so..."

Elena nodded understanding and walked to where their group of friends stood, not so subtlety spying on Aella and Stefan.

Stefan looked tense still, and Aella rubbed his arm in comfort, "Calm down, I'm fine. I can handle Tyler."

Stefan nodded, calming at her touch, and handed out the red cup to her, "Your water."

Aella smiled gratefully and took a huge sip, "Thank you, water right now is a godsend! I was so thirsty I swear I could have done a Bear Grylls and dug until I found water!"

Stefan smiled at her, bewildered, "Isn't he the British guy that drinks his own pee?"

"Ew, really?" Aella grimaced, screwing her face up.

Stefan chuckled, nodding his head, "Really!"

"Damn!" She laughed with him, "I knew I should have watched more than one episode before I was sure I could handle being stranded in the Sahara!"

Stefan's laughter continued and turned into a broad smile, "I like your laugh."

Aella sobered and smiled just as wide, "I like your smile. Too many people haven't smiled enough lately."

"That's usually me," he shyly looked to the floor, opening up to her. "But you bring out this side of me that can't stop."

Aella tried to catch his eyes with hers, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good," Stefan looked up at her, feeling happy. "Definitely good."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before both of them started to lean in; that's when Aella noticed red lines slowly appearing under his eyes, "Hey, are you okay?"

Stefan brows drew inwards, and she noticed his eyes had turned even darker, almost black, "Your eyes-"

Stefan pulled away and looked away, clearing his throat, feeling very uncomfortable "-oh, um... Yeah, it's nothing." He then took Aella's cup, balanced on the bridge, "Your drink is nearly empty, I'm gonna get us some more."

He hastily walked off, leaving Aella alone as she stared after him. The way his eyes changed and the lines that quickly formed around them, sticking in her memory.

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Aella stood at the bridge for a few minutes, trying to ignore that gnawing feeling of her magic pushing against her brain. It was like it wanted her to realize something.

Shaking her head, she slowly headed back to the pavilion, where she knew she could sit and wait for Stefa. Just as Aella reached the wooden structure, she noticed her best friend stumble out of the opposite exit and straight towards the very person Aella was waiting for.

Caroline had obviously taken the term, drink all you want, to heart and was indeed smashed. She reached Stefan and grasped his arm as Stefan smiled at her politely, holding her up, "I think you've had too much to drink."

"Well, of course, you have!" Caroline exclaimed mistakingly. She lifted Stefan's arm and span underneath it, "My Li Li Lia is the DD tonight, have you seen the falls?" She pouted at him, too drunk that this was the boy she intended to set her friend up with, "Me aI you could-"

"Caroline," Stefan sighed. He was frustrated at what had happened with Aella and used that to push Caroline back with a little more force than he would ever like. "You and me will never happen, not in a million years. Sorry. So find someone else-"

"-Do yourself a favor and stop talking right now," Aella scowled at Stefan, stepping between him and Caroline, holding her best friend up. "There's only one person on this earth that can talk down to her like that, and you're looking at her, and that's only because she's seen me naked and knows my worst secrets."

She could feel Caroline pulling on her arm trying to stop her, but ignored as she looked at Stefan with disappointment, disregarding the apologetic sad puppy dog look he gave her and pulling at her heart.

"No one speaks or acts like that to my best friend," Aella pointed at him. "No matter how drunk she is, or how annoyed you are, and even when she turns into Judy-flirt-a-lot, she's my person. And no one, not even the boy I really like gets away with that."

She saw her cup of water in his hand and slammed her down, so the cup of water fell down onto the floor and onto, what she hoped, expensive boots. "Have a good evening, asshole!"