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↳ 001, summer, week 1

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𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍, in some dirty bar with Naya.

Naya had insisted on taking her somewhere fun, stating that it wouldn't be a true summer unless they did something reckless, and oh, how reckless they became.

Colette Copeman was not one to dress up or even go out of her way to approach a stranger, much less go waltzing into the arms of one as she was tempted to do then. Instead, she valued comfort and the comfort her bed and home brought her. The thick blankets, the soft sheets, her fluffy pajama pants, and even the warm socks her mother got her for Christmas the year before with animals on them. But Naya had other plans.

Naya Pérez. Tall, beautiful, and golden to her very core. She held her chin high and made even the meanest of scowls look pretty. She rivaled Colette in everything they did but she didn't mind. She would happily give herself up for Naya in a heartbeat, no matter the damaging costs.

But this wasn't important. Not when Colette had seen him.

Blonde, definitely older, with malice in his eyes. He had seen war, no, he had forged them himself. He held himself up like he was better than everyone in the room and if she had to guess, he was. He was better.

He looked like something ethereal, something entirely from another planet. A completely different world, and Colette was transfixed. Absolutely and utterly bewitched.

But Naya, brilliant and cunning Naya, saw what she did and took and took until it didn't even matter how this godforsaken man had looked at her before her cherished friend devoured. How he had looked to her and smiled at her, seconds away from standing and coming to her. 

You would've been mine, the voice seemed to draw out from him. You could've been for me.

She watched her from her seat near the door as her friend stalked and worked the room as if she were the predator and this glorious man was her intended prey. And when she finally struck, she struck true.

Flirtatious smile. Touch of the arm. Leaning closer, leaning down. Pushing her breasts together with her arms. A little laugh. It was all a game, every time.

Watch as I steal him, little girl. Watch as I take and take until I can no longer move and breathe. Watch as I break him open as I do to you.

She should be used to this type of slow torture, but she would not give in like Naya desired. She would not show her how it hurt, how it stung. There was no need to start something, to start a rift between them when Naya was all she had.

Friends since childhood; friends since birth as others would say. They came kicking and screaming and covered in blood a week apart, like they had been made and sculpted for the other. The fates had seen two souls and intertwined them, but didn't take into account how the strings of fate would send Colette drowning alongside Naya.

The gruesome monster that had been slowly uncoiling for years inside Naya Pérez would soon rather devour Colette than allow her to live on without her.

What a fun little game you play, but you will never win.

Colette dreamt of snakes that night. They slithered and curled around her, slipping around her neck and forcing their way through her locked jaw. Worming and rattling inside her gut, she felt as if her subconscious was trying to prepare her for something, trying and failing to warn her against the serpent sleeping in her home.

When she woke, safely tucked away in her bed and alone, she heard talking from downstairs. She threw the covers off of her and found she was still wearing her clothes from the night prior. She had been too exhausted to change once Naya dropped her at home and she pulled off her jean skirt for a pair of pajama pants.

She wiped the smudge of mascara from underneath her eyes and threw a hoodie over the tank top she didn't feel like explaining once she went downstairs.

Her mother, Stella Copeman, was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and the paper in the other. She looked up once Colette came in, smiling and looking at her beyond the thin reading glasses she had on.

"How was your night, honey?" her mom asked as Colette grabbed a plate from the kitchen island and began serving herself some scrambled eggs and bacon set out for breakfast. Her father, Adam Copeman, was making pancakes on the stove and eating bites of bacon in between flips.

"You got home late," her dad added as she snuck an arm around him to grab a finished pancake. "Heard you in the kitchen around three."

"Was hungry," mumbled Colette as she took a rather large bite out of the pancake she was now manhandling. "Naya wouldn't stop for food."

Her mom laughed, hiding her grin behind her coffee mug. Her mom was beautiful, not dangerously so like Naya, but in an elegant way. She had her brown hair pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, strands of hair framing her face barely stricken with age. Her dad, on the other hand, had a wild face.

He looked almost serpentine to her mother's feline features. Colette wasn't sure which one she inherited her looks from, but she knew her brother, Tommy, had gotten their father's viper-like stare and grin.

Tommy, who was her dad's son from his previous marriage and Colette's older half-brother, was nowhere to be seen at breakfast. Which was to be expected. He spent most of his time locked away in his room or in the basement of one of his friends, friends who didn't take any interest in Colette but were wild with fantasies of Naya.

But who could blame them?

Setting down her paper, her mom rested her chin in her empty palm as Colette sat down, asking, "Got any big plans this week?"

It was the beginning of summer vacation and it was already being filled with lonely nights in her bedroom or in the car, somewhere far away from here. But this summer was different, especially for Naya who wanted to drag Colette to parties, to people's homes where she wanted to wreak havoc and lose herself in her petty games in order to inflict Colette with the most irritants. She wanted her weak.

"Probably just sleep, honestly."

"Come on, no parties? Nothing fun with Naya?" her mom urged, trying her best to get her teenage daughter to open up. "You two must have something planned for your big birthdays in a few weeks!"

Colette shrugged as her dad came around the table with an extra two pancakes, plopping them down in her bath of syrup. She had the urge to run her hand through its sticky sweetness, she wanted to spill it everywhere. "There's a party up at the Lockwood mansion this weekend, but that's all I know so far." She shrugged. "Naya knows most of the details."

"And you don't want to go?" asked her dad.

She dipped the tip of her finger into the syrup before sucking her pointer clean. She liked the way it coated her tongue, giving her a new taste entirely. "I'd rather spend it here than having to take care of her when she drinks too much jëager."

Her parents knew all too well about the misfortunes of a drunk Naya.

"But it could be fun," said her mom, as if trying to convince her to go. She sounded so much like Naya that Colette cut deep into her pancakes, stuffing the bites into her mouth as if to shut off that little voice pecking at her skull.

Live a little, Cole, or you'll never live at all.

"Maybe," Colette finally said as she forked some of her eggs and wondered what it would be like if she split the plate in half with the force.

To break and shatter and bleed with amber syrup and golden butter.

Two hours later she was diving into the pool in Naya's backyard. She had shown up at Colette's home, uninvited and unannounced, spooking her while she was exiting the bathroom. Lounged across her bed as if she had been there the entire time, as if she had been living there, invading.

Colette came up for air, smoothing her hair away from her face and blinking away the water in her eyes. She liked the sting, the burn, in her eyes when the water was wiped away from her vision. It reminded her that she was still here, still floating, still moving.

The water was lukewarm from the summer heat, but she didn't mind. Anything was better than sitting underneath the sweltering sun, like Naya was currently doing. She held a magazine in her hands, flipping idly through pictures and articles of celebrities with shiny, plastic faces. Naya would often fantasize about what life could be for her if she moved to California, or if she ended up in the bed of some famous man. She would relay these thoughts to Colette, who more often than not, tuned them out in order to not fall into her own make-believe perfect world.

Where her family had enough money to travel. To buy the clothes she always wanted. To finally take a breath and be herself, away from this town and away from these people. It wasn't as if she didn't belong, because she did, more than she'd like to admit. It was just that she wanted to leave more than anything, or at least be more comfortable within her own skin. Things were more difficult when Naya was around and in one of her phases, the boy hungry and alcohol craving moments.

Sometimes, it was just easier to take the drink or to smoke the joint than argue. It was futile to argue with Naya. She held onto every little word someone has ever said, piling them up inside her brain within a big hat in which she would pull out a secret and dump it upon you like a game. She wanted to see you riled up, nervous, she wanted to see you weak compared to her.

Colette usually didn't have a problem with this. She would simply go along with it, blush bright red, shield her eyes in order to please her. She couldn't help it, Colette Copeman was a people pleaser.

And, for some unknown reason, she wanted to please Naya Pérez. She wanted to keep her happy, keep her distracted enough not to cause Colette any harm. There was always a new game with her, a new plan of action to cut hard and cut deep, and Colette was just a frequent victim.

"Want to make a lemonade stand?"

Naya looked down at her, she had grown an extra few inches over the summer. "Why would we want to do that when we can go into town?"

"Mom said we're too young to go by ourselves--"

"We're not kids, Cole," she snapped, crossing her lanky arms over her chest. "If you want to sit out here by yourself with your pathetic, little lemonade stand, be my guest. I'm going into town."

"Naya--"

She turned from her spot at the end of the yard, hands on her bike. "We're thirteen, we can't keep doing all these kiddy things. Now, are you coming or not?"

Colette slipped her head under the surface, pushing through the water until she rested on the bottom of the pool. It was perfectly quiet down here and when she forced her eyes open, she saw blurry blue tile prints of the pool lining and the sun reflecting at the surface. Opening her mouth, she watched bubbles fly from her lips like silent screams trying to escape their way up to the surface, to release their sound to ears who could comprehend.

When they had been kids, they would swim to the bottom of the pool and pretend to have tea parties and conversations only they could understand like they were mermaids. They'd wear chunky goggles and thick one pieces, all bright and multicolored, and sit on the bottom as if they were sitting in the grass. They'd watch their hair float around them like manes and crowns and begin laughing and have to swim up to get air before they choked on chlorine.

Things changed, as they always tended to do. Naya preferred the sun over the water. She liked lounging in chairs, listening to music from her speakers. And don't get her wrong, Colette loved doing those things too. She loved the feel of the sun on her skin as she flipped through the pages of a book or even scrolling through her phone, but the pool was a different escape. 

Escaping from the heat, from the warmth. She liked the cold, she always liked when getting out of the pool you'd get that full body chill from a breeze and have to wrap up in a towel. It was another reason why she preferred to wear hoodies, as they were just another layer to keep her comfortable.

When she couldn't stand holding her breath anymore, she planted her feet against the bottom and pushed up. Breaking the surface with her eyes still open, a gasp fell from her lips as she spat water from her mouth.

"Are you done trying to drown yourself yet?" Naya asked from her lounge chair as she absentmindedly flipped the pages of her magazine.

Colette wiped the water from her mouth and swam to the edge, resting her arms against the ledge and directed the conversation elsewhere. "Lockwood's Friday, we're going?"

Naya barely looked up from her magazine but dipped her sunglasses down her nose with a knowing look. "Surprised you actually want to go."

"It sounds like fun," Colette mumbled, lifting herself out of the water and sitting down so she could keep her feet in the water. She felt it drip down her back, her hair matted to her skin. The water rippled around her legs, little waves that she wished would rise up and crest over them. "You said you wanted to live a little before senior year, make a real name for ourselves," she murmured, looking over her shoulder, "and what's better than a Lockwood mansion party?"

Naya's lips curled into a grin and she dropped the magazine, finally. Leaning forward, she said, "Caroline Forbes says they're going to try and get five kegs."

"And let me guess..." Colette sighed but plastered a smile on her face as she said, "You want us to do keg stands?"

"Well, obviously you don't have too, but I think it'll finally land us enough points to get in with their crowd."

"Their crowd?"

"Caroline, Tyler, Stefan, Elena."

"What happened to not wanting anything to do with Elena?" Colette asked, shifting so she could sit with one leg in the water and the other bent and pressed to her chest. "I think your exact words were, 'I am never bothering with that two-faced bitch again.'"

Naya narrowed her eyes and a pretty scowl replaced her smile. "She's a cunt."

"Naya--!"

"What?" she snapped, leaning back against her chair. "It's true. She can't go one second without a boyfriend. I mean, do you remember how she went from Matt straight to Stefan and now his brother--"

Colette shook her head, words frothing at her lips. "She dumped Matt after her parents died, which is completely valid." She watched Naya's lips purse and Colette knew she had spoken wrong but that didn't stop her from adding with a shrug, "Who could really blame her with the Salvatore brothers? Have you seen them? Like, come on, Ny, you'd be doing the same, too."

Stefan and Damon Salvatore, two devilishly handsome brothers. Colette had been in Stefan's history class last year, and would never admit to Naya that she often found herself staring off at the boy when distracted in class. It was hard not to stare, to take in his aching beauty, but that had been before she had seen his brother.

Damon. Damon. Damon.

Caroline Forbes had had a fling with him at the beginning of the school year, and through countless rumors, Colette heard it had ended badly. She'd seen the man around school, mostly at their dances where he was frequently trying to weasel himself between Elena and Stefan, who were a newly formed golden couple.

If you broke open their veins, they would bleed gold like gods. Everyone in that group bled something different, foreign, something dangerous and unholy. They brought something different to their town, something inhuman and deadly. The random animal attacks that plagued Mystic Falls last year were not the only strange doings to take place within the once eerily peaceful town.

Matt Donovan's sister Vicky, Elena's aunt Jenna, and a dozen other notable people were all dead by the end of the school year. Colette had watched from the sidelines as bodies piled up, unearthed like a handful of waterlogged worms.

Mysterious deaths. Strange visitors. And Colette was beginning to think it all circled back to the golden friends, the core group that walked the town as if they all knew something no one else did. A big secret, so huge that Naya had begun to crave the knowledge that weighed down the shoulders of the two brothers who seemed to have started it all since arriving in town.

She turned her attention from her thoughts and back to Naya who pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and snapped, "Elena Gilbert acts like she owns the Salvatores, which shouldn't even be surprising since they're both obsessed with her. Her? Please," she scoffed. "What does she have besides a pretty face?"

Not too long ago, Naya had been in love with Matt, which Colette still thought was insane seeing that the two were polar opposites. She didn't see the hype about Matt, at least not from Naya's viewpoint but potentially from Elena's and Caroline's since they had all been friends for so long. She had thought it was only a phase but when she caught Naya looking at him in classes, the hallway, or even longingly at parties, it seemed that her boy-happy friend had finally fallen. That was, of course, before Elena started to date Matt and then Caroline soon after, leaving Naya in the dust of their romantic wake.

Then, of course, after Matt came Stefan. Obsessed with him just like every other girl, but it seemed her only had eyes for one girl and it wasn't Naya. It always shocked Colette that Naya hadn't had a serious boyfriend yet. She'd have her random hookups, her drunk make-outs, even plenty of her own one night stands which Colette found exotic and thrilling when she'd relay the details the next day, but never just one boy who'd stolen her heart. Naya was beautiful, long black hair, rich soft skin, stunning light colored eyes, and although the two girls were the same height, it seemed Naya always towered over her with her bursting confidence and general attitude.

Naya was a forest fire. Unpredictable, wild, deranged.

"She's been nice to us," Colette murmured as she got to her feet and padded over to sit down on one of the lounge chairs. Her towel was warmed by the sun and she laid back as Naya complained with a groan.

"If you call being selfish nice, then yeah, sure."

Colette closed her eyes, letting the sun soak up every droplet of water against her skin. "Is this because of Stefan?"

Naya scoffed. "As if."

"Ny..."

"Why her, okay? Why her! I saw him first, I talked to him first."

It was true. First day of school and Naya had seen him. Leather jacket, sunglasses, swooping blonde haircut that nearly every boy tried to recreate but couldn't, and a smirk like he owned the place and wanted everyone to know it. Similarly, it was the same smirk his brother would give, just Stefan's was kinder, inviting. He had gone into the office for his schedule and Naya had pounced, introducing herself to him and stealing away his schedule before he had a chance to decline. 

Seeing as they didn't have any classes together, she directed him out into the hall when Elena had came crashing into him from the boys bathroom, for whatever reason that might've been. Naya was left behind by the wide eyes and perfect smiles from the pair and before she knew it, Elena was taking his schedule and proclaiming how they had similar classes and Naya was forgotten.

"And he still chose Elena." Colette turned her head to the side, opening her eyes and squinting to look at her friend. Naya's face was scrunched up in her familiar annoyance.

Shaking her head, Naya snarled, "It's not fair, she gets everything and what do we get? Nothing."

Colette shrugged. "What can you really do about it? I overheard Caroline at the grill say he left town for the summer."

"Are you serious?" The other girl sat up, jolting straight to stare at her. "You can't be serious." Her strapless bikini top slipped, showing how white her skin was underneath and Colette turned away, feeling her cheeks rush with heat. How many times had Naya accidentally let her bathing suit slip to see if Colette would look? How many times did she shove it in her face that she was more beautiful, more alluring?

As if trying to tempt her by the way of sun-kissed flesh and the smell of coconut.

"Is his brother still in town, at least?"

Colette faced her again, hoping the pink to her cheeks had died away as she said, "Why? Thinking of going after him, too?"

Naya fixed her bathing suit and narrowed her eyes. "You know, if you weren't so nice, I'd say you sounded jealous, Cole."

Of course I'm jealous, she wanted to snap back. How could she not be? Naya got everything she wanted, every guy, every girl, every damn pair of shoes she'd ever dreamed of having. There was no use in ever competing if she was dead set on something or someone.

"All I'm saying is," Colette said slowly, testing her words on her tongue, "that we both know the guy's obsessed with Elena, too, so why bother chasing after someone who's already taken?"

"He might be taken emotionally, but he's not physically."

He won't want you, Colette Copeman. He'll see Elena and he'll see Naya and you'll be left in the shadows. You'll be forgotten, like you always are.

She brushed away the hair sticking to her face, feeling the sun warming her cheeks and knowing she'll be burned by the time she leaves. Glancing at her friend, she noted how she still stared at her, an edge to her eyes.

Who's next, Naya? Tyler Lockwood? Jeremy Gilbert?

"Maybe if you wore something other than hoodies and those ridiculous tanks, a guy might actually find you attractive, don't you think?" Naya sneered, standing and throwing her magazine down into her chair. "All it takes is a little effort, Cole, and then maybe someone will finally notice you."

She dove into the water and Colette let the water that splashed up against her legs run down her shins like acid burning away at her skin.

Colette headed into the grill, the sun beating down against her bare shoulders in a tank top Naya had specifically dissed but she didn't seem to mind. She had to remind herself it was summer and nothing mattered now than it did during the school year. She was here for only one thing, to pick up an order Naya called in for them for dinner.

If it was during the school year, Colette and Naya would be seated somewhere in a booth or at the pool table, or even trying to buy drinks off a group of guys at the bar, mostly for Naya's own amusement. It wasn't like Colette didn't like drinking, she did, but not as much as her friend and not to the point where blacking out was her preferred method.

She could admit though, that sometimes, blacking out was exactly what she needed and craved. There was something about the act of forgetting, the loss of memory entirely that drove her to another level. To wake up the next morning without any recollection of the night before and having to piece it all together as if she were some amateur detective retracing their steps. It was one of the only ways to forget and not be forced to remember what Naya had done the night prior, to not be bothered by her and her schemes.

Easy manipulated and tempted by a good time, Colette couldn't help herself, especially when Naya fed her shots as if it were some big game to see how many it took for her to bend over and puke. Naya liked being the best and holding her liquor was just another way for her to prove she was the best and what better way than to show up Colette at every jab and look?

As she walked through the doors, she took in the dim atmosphere. Instantly recognizing a bleached white head at the bar, she quickly told the eager hostess she was waiting for an order for Copeman before heading to the bar. She slipped into the seat next to the boy and grinned.

"So, this is where you've been all day."

Tommy Copeman turned in his seat with a massive grin. 

At first glance and well, at any glance, Colette and Tommy Copeman looked absolutely nothing alive save for the way they both held the same glare and the same eager smile. In contrast with Colette, Tommy had golden tanned skin and dark eyes, with even darker brows and once upon a time his hair was the same color before he got the bright idea to bleach it which only made him look even more handsome and enticing.

"Here without your partner in crime, I see," he cooed back, swirling his glass of amber-colored liquor.

She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Seems like that ID is treating you well."

"Yeah," he mumbled, downing the rest of his drink. "Make sure to thank Naya for that."

Naya, with all her hookups, had found someone to make them fake IDs two summers ago. So, Colette was now looking at Richard Greene, aged twenty-three and from Michigan.

"Has she got you running her errands now, too?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her as she waved the bartender down and raised two fingers as she pointed to his empty glass. "You know she treats you like shit, right? Like, you've got to see that."

"I'm not doing anything I wouldn't have already myself," she mumbled as she slid her ID to the bartender and the man slid them their drinks. "I didn't peg you as a happy hour guy," she said as she downed half the drink, feeling it leave a scathing burn down her throat and into her gut where it warmed her like lava. "Where's the rest of your usual scene? Still in their basements?"

"More like bothering Forbes and Gilbert by the pool table."

She peered over Tommy's shoulder, spotting his three friends; Isaiah, Dean, and Ryan. The four of them had been inseparable since freshman year and the three of them were even planning on attending Whitmore College in the fall save for Tommy who wanted to defer a year for what he called 'travel' which only means he'll be couch surfing and circling different bars like a bird over prey.

"You and Naya have any plans tonight?"

She drew her eyes away from the way Caroline flipped her hair over her shoulder, throwing her head back to laugh. From where she was sitting, she could see Tyler Lockwood at one of the tables with Matt, his eyes on the blonde and the blonde alone.

"Not really, why?"

"Dean's been asking about her."

"Really?" She wasn't shocked. Naya had been known to slip over to Dean's place after school, at least that's what she'd been telling Colette and for all she knew, she could be shaking up with someone else entirely.

Tommy nodded, raising his glass to his lips. "Begging her to come out with us."

"And she's said no?"

"Well it hasn't exactly been a yes, Cole," Tommy said with a laugh, tipping the glass back and drinking it all. He spat a piece of ice into the cup, as he always was a fan of his bourbon on the rocks. Although Colette had never been a fan of bourbon, she could admit that it did bring a rather soothing warmth to her stomach, coating her in something otherworldly. "How about you two come out with us tomorrow? We're going to some bar outside of town."

"Me? You're asking me?" she said with wide eyes before nudging him, "Didn't you say it would be embarrassing to be seen bar hopping with me?" He had practically screamed it at her a month ago when both her and Naya tried to accompany his little group to a party. He had pulled her aside, glaring and spitting.

It's pathetic, okay? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to sit there all night and watch my baby sister get eaten alive by a bunch of assholes. Especially with Naya around.

"Figured we'd keep each other company while the boys and Naya do what they do best," he offered with a shrug.

"Count me in," she said as the hostess flagged her down and handed her the to-go bag of food. She rested it against her leg, feeling the warmth pooling at the bottom. "Are you going to the Lockwood's this weekend?"

He nodded, giving her a strange look as he choked out between a chunk of ice between his teeth, "Don't tell me Naya's forcing you to go?"

"I think it'll be fun!"

"And is that Cole talking or Naya?"

She whacked his arm, scooting off of her chair. "It's the summer before senior year," she declared, "and I've gotta make a name for myself. Don't want to go out as a nobody."

No longer Naya's shadow? No longer just another face in a crowd? Are you willing to let go of the comfort you sought for in the silence? In that forgiving loneliness?

"We'll make sure you go out with a bang." He grinned, clinking his glass against hers before dumping the rest of the ice into his mouth. She brought the cool glass to his lips and drank until it was gone and there was only the leftover melting ice which she slid over to Tommy before patting him on the back and mumbling something along the lines of see you at home.

She honestly couldn't tell what she had said because she had seen him, stalking across the grill and towards where Elena and Caroline were now seated, eating from a basket of fries. He wore what he always wore, something black and fitting. His hair was longer, curling slightly at the nape of his neck, and Colette couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to run her fingers through it, to pull at the ends, to be consumed by him.

Damon Salvatore was a god in every sense of the word. Bone structure chiseled straight from hell, sharp, devilish, and dark. He rivaled his younger brother, dark versus light. While Damon was cruel, Stefan was kind. At least, she assumed he was cruel by the rumors and whispers she'd heard in the halls, specifically from Bonnie Bennett and Caroline.

But those comments, even as terrible, were always followed by such strong looks of longing because even they knew he was heartbreakingly stunning. She could mark the ways his lips turned up into a smirk or even a brilliant smile, flashing something so dangerous between his teeth like her flesh was caught there, as was a piece of her soul.

She had had this same reaction to the man in the bar the night prior, before Naya dangled her lustful cord between his eyes like dragging a toy in front of a cat. His eyes leaving Colette's stare to hold Naya's eager grin as she licked her lips and prepared to unhinge her jaws.

Even from where she had been sitting, she could hear his accent. Clearly English and clearly not from here, which only drove Naya even further that night. Colette could only sit and watch as her friend played with her food.

It was what she was always destined to do. To sit, to stare, to be quiet. To observe, silent and invisible. She should be grateful, nothing bad ever happened to her. By keeping her mouth shut, there was no reason for someone to come after her. She didn't do anything wrong, even though the little voices in her head told her to run wild, to strip off this layer of reticence and unleash the sleeping beast who would open one eye from time to time as if curious when she would set it free.

She pulled her eyes from Damon and Elena and headed to the door, the bag of food heavy in her hands. Naya had insisted on more than one appetizer because one wasn't enough to be paired with the wine she had stolen from her parents liquor cabinet.

And what could Colette do? Say no to extra food and a delicious bottle of red wine?

Yeah, not likely.

Wednesday night came sooner than she realized, standing in Naya's bedroom and fixing her lip gloss in the mirror. They always preferred to get ready at her house, her bedroom three times the size of Colette's and fixed with her own master bathroom where both girls could pick a spot to put their makeup on.

Colette had spent more time in this bedroom than she had in her own home, which should be surprising to some because she's more likely than not to be wrapped up in blankets on her bed. When she wasn't scrolling on her computer or ducking her head into books, she was found in this room, lounging against Naya's silk sheets and fluffy quilts. Her light pink walls and white carpets made her feel like she was lost within some other realm entirely. And with the music that played constantly through Naya's speakers, it felt like this world belonged to them and they were the only ones left who mattered.

Colette wished she mattered like that, in the important way she felt nearly every time stepping into the sacred space that was the bedroom. It was unholy ground, where fire was splayed and bodies were burned, drunken escapades and angry tears. A lavish dungeon with matching drapes and blankets.

"Wearing that tank top again?" Naya scoffed as she fixed the lace around her neck. Her shirt clung to her skin, lacy and black and ready to be torn off, which is how she would've put it if given the chance. "You're beginning to look like her, you know."

"Who?" Colette asked, drawing her hair back and up into a ponytail. "Elena?"

Naya rolled her eyes. "Duh, who else?"

"It's summer, Ny," she murmured, pulling a few strands of her loose to run down the sides of her cheeks. "Which means it's hot, I don't have anything else to wear, you know that."

She didn't need designer tops, even though she might want them. It was a constant need versus want operation in her home. Going shopping and seeing a new pair of shoes? Do you really need them or do you just want them? Do you want that basket of fries or do you just need them? Yes, she would think in her head, yes, I do need them.

"At least you're wearing that cute jean skirt from the other night again," Naya was saying as she leaned closer to the mirror to apply mascara. "It makes your legs look so long."

A compliment for a compliment, the little voice in her head chided as she ran a hand through her ponytail and said, "Not as long as yours, those jeans make you look like a runner."

A flip of the hair, a worthy smile, and a long glance down her own legs was what Naya gave her in return.

They were ready for the boys to pick them up by ten, heading outside into the warm evening with nothing in their hands but their phones, IDs, and a wad of small dollars. It was all they needed in order to get into the bar for drinks. By the time they walked down the long, winding driveway, Colette recognized her brother's car roll to a stop near the open gates.

"Drinking games start now, assholes!" Ryan called out of one of the open windows.

Naya jogged the rest of the way to the car, sticking her head inside the window in the back seat. When she pulled out, Colette noticed her fixing her lipstick with a wild grin as she threw open the door and got inside.

As she neared the backseat, she could see Naya sitting on one of the boy's laps and she motioned to the front, smirking, "Shotgun's all yours."

Brother and sister, together to take care of the pack. Who will get eaten first? And who will go hungry?

The bar was crowded, located right outside of Virginia in a random small town in North Carolina. It was a frequent destination for Tommy and his friends because as they entered, the bartender instantly waved them down and a few customers were greeting them with wild claps on the back and grins.

As Naya was swept off her feet by both Dean and Isaiah, Tommy ordered a round of shots with Ryan. Colette didn't know what they were until it hit the back of her throat, burning down her like liquid gasoline. She reached for the soda Tommy had gotten for himself and took a long sip, coughing.

"Tequila, really?" she moaned, wiping her mouth. "And you didn't order it with lime or salt, come on, Tom."

"Why deal with the dramatics of it all?" he asked, pushing another shot into her hands. "We're here to get drunk, fast. Not to suck on limes all night."

She forced a nod as Naya came up beside her and clinked their glasses together, practically bringing Colette's shot to her lips, cheering as the warmth slipped down her throat and straight into the pit of her stomach. It dribbled down her chin, warm and running like spilled blood and she had to run her fingers up her face to catch the droplets and suck them from her fingers like she was afraid to waste even a single drop.

Fifteen minutes later, with three shots in her, she felt it in her head. It was another curse of being a particularly huge lightweight as the buzz came fast, waltzing into her head and blood stream like a guest who'd overstayed their welcome. Her movements felt slower but lighter, her eyes somewhat heavy, and she couldn't stop smiling. Her speech was normal, her movements the very same, but it all just felt different.

She felt different.

She danced with Dean, which she never did. Mostly, it was because they never hung out, especially if Naya was there but tonight was different, everything was different. How many times had she thought of the word 'different' in the past minute?

Five? Ten?

Different, different, different, different--

There was a band playing on a little stage, something kind of country but seemingly still incredibly upbeat. The bar had hanging pictures of old patrons, blurry and faded with time. Feet thudding against the wood panels, laughter in her ears, dim lights making the atmosphere feel almost mystical, she hardly could focus on the hands smoothing over the skin of her hips.

She could see Naya over Dean's broad shoulder, her eyes narrowed and her mouth pulled into something venomous. She watched her friend turn her head, pull Tommy closer as if they were sharing a secret, or they were the secret.

Had they always been friends? When had Tommy ever enjoyed being alone with her? Had they been alone before together?

Her attention was drawn from the strange pair and back to her dance partner. Dean was handsome, it was clear. Light scruff patterning across his cheeks and jaw, large hooded eyes that were so dark they were nearly black, and Colette thought she could get lost in them, just for tonight. She had never felt the attention she had now and she loved it and she wanted more.

More, more, more.

Dean spun her around as the song climaxed and she wondered what it would be like to play as Naya for the night. To wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer, to be the one he craved and desired. To feel wanted, in any way imaginable.

To play god, just for one night.

Dean pulled her closer again once they were facing each other but her eyes had found something else entirely. Her eyes peered over his shoulder as they pressed together and she felt his hands on her hips start to rise and move to her back, finger splayed across her dangerously hot skin but she couldn't focus on that. Her eyes had found something far more interesting.

 A stranger who was familiar to her and she realized she had seen him before, with Naya earlier in the week. The lion's face, the curly blonde hair, the malicious grin.

The man who had seen and forged war, who had been created from a godly mold and pushed out to wreak such terrible havoc. 

She got lost in his eyes and she knew she was screwed.

Royally and totally fucked as he smiled and beckoned her near with only a look of his eyes and the tilt of his head. She felt herself move from Dean's arm, as if in a trance, and before she knew it, she was gone.

Spiraling into a dark blue-green lake with a smile on her face.

AUTHOR'S NOTE━━okkkk wow first chapter is finally here!! very very much UNEDITED so if there are errors and u want to correct me u def can just pls do it kindly lol.how are you guys feeling about it so far? anything u like or want to happen??

lmao fuk naya tho (but also i kinda b in love w her idk idk)

this all definitely felt like it spewed out and was rushed eee O WELL 

comment/vote and i'll kiss every single one of u