CHAPTER 14: FOUNDERS DAY

Town Square

"Hey, assholes!" Natalie smiled as she walked up to Stefan and Damon as the Founder's Day parade was starting soon.

"What are you doing here?" Damon rolled his eyes annoyedly at the brunette.

"Drove Elena here, who of course wants to make her dramatic entrance." Natalie smirked and raised an eyebrow at the boys. "So what did you guys talk about before I made Your day a whole lot better by gracing you with my presence?"

"Basically about Stefan being insecure about Elena. I mean, if you really trust her and love her as much as you say you do, why are you even worried?" Damon smirked. "But, hey, I get it. I'm the better, hotter, superior choice and you're scared, now that Katherine is out of the picture, that I'm gonna turn all my attention to Elena. But don't worry, Elena is not Katherine."

Stefan tilted his head and sighed. "You're right, she's not."

"Ehm, probably something I need to mention-" Natalie was cut off by Elena's appearance. "And, I think that speaks for itself."

Elena walked closer to the brothers and other and smirked as she curtsied.

"Yeah, kind of dressed Elena scarily similar to Katherine. Sorry." Natalie frowned slightly, but neither Stefan nor Damon noticed as their gazes were trapped on Elena.

"So, you're just gonna ignore me?" No one responded. "Oh, that's cool, I suppose."

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Soon, Damon left, feeling very uncomfortable about the fact that he was staring at his brother's girlfriend in a way that no guy should ever stare at their brother's girlfriend.

So, he left his brother with two girls who's about hear a shocking revelation.

"John? Is that even possible?" Elena questioned, her eyes widening.

"There is no proof, but he dated Isobel when she was a teenager and he was the one who brought her to your dad's office for the delivery." Stefan shrugged worriedly.

"My whole life I've never liked this man. I..." Elena trailed off.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I just...I wanted to tell you before Damon dropped it on you two on some typically inappropriate way." Stefan frowned his signature frown.

"No, thank you. We needed to know... we wanted to know," Natalie sighed. "I just... how or when are we supposed to confront him about that?"

"I guess, when you're ready." Stefan smiled comfortingly, putting his hand on her shoulder in a little more then friendly gesture.

"I'm never gonna be ready." Elena said jealously, desperately trying to get the attention away from Natalie, whilst ignoring Natalie."Stefan, I have enough problems with the family that I actually care about. Jeremy hates me, and why wouldn't he? My journal gave him every single reason to."

"I have a feeling that this is going to have nothing to do with me, so I'm gonna go." Natalie said awkwardly, not noticing Stefan's lingering look on her, but Elena did.

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"Please, Nat!" Caroline begged her best friend who was standing in front of her With her hands on her hips.

"You don't want that, I promise you." Natalie scrunched her nose up.

"I just want you to take a picture of me and Matt." Caroline frowned before stroking the fabric of her 1860's dress.

"Fine." Natalie sighed.

She grabbed the camera making Caroline smile brightly.

The blonde placed herself next to her boyfriend before she glanced down at his arm, which had a cast on it, disapprovingly. "Oh, wait! Hide your cast, it's not era-appropriate!"

"Seriously?" Matt sighed in annoyance.

"Yes!" Caroline exclaimed, as if it was obvious.

Matt sighed in defeat and his his cast behind Caroline's back.

"Now, say 'Caroline's an evil slave driver who's probably been using some sort of mind control on us because she always gets her way'!" Natalie mockingly exclaimed.

Caroline responded with a glare before smiling when Natalie took the picture.

"I want one with Natalie now!" Caroline exclaimed happily, her gaze moving to her best friend.

"Seriously?" Natalie groaned.

"Yes, now get over here!"

"Here, I can take it." Tyler smiled as he walked over to the Donaforbesman trio.

"I'll be on the float." Matt sighed, glaring at his former best friend. Yes, they were still fighting over the fact that Tyler made out with Matt's mom.

Tyler turned to look at the annoyed duo that was Caroline and Natalie. "I said I was sorry!"

"Tyler, need I remind you that you made out with his freaking mom?" Natalie pursed her lips annoyedly. "Oh, let's not forget the fact that you then beat him to a pulp, I know, I was there. You need to something a little better then sorry."

Caroline smiled at her best friend before giving Tyler a hard look and walking after her boyfriend.

"So..." Natalie called after her. "No picture?"

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The Mystic Grill

After the parade was finished and Elena had changed out of her 1860's dress, she was off complaining to Natalie.

"I just- I don't get why he's so mad at me! All I did was try to protect him. He should be grateful! If I didn't he'd probably be even madder because I didn't make Damon compel him!" Elena ranted to her sister about Jeremy.

"I get both your sides." Natalie shrugged.

"How? What is his side?"

"He feels betrayed. You're his big sister, you're not supposed to lie to him. But I do get your side too." Natalie said softly.

"Really?" Elena sighed.

"The first casualty of war is innocence."

"That basically sums it up." Elena tilted her head in agreement.

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Town Square

Natalie was walking around soundly, being calm and happy for once.

Until Damon ruined it, of course.

"Natalie!" he called out in relief as he spotted the brunette.

"What is it, Damon?" Natalie rolled her eyes.

"You keep those nifty little vampire darts in the car?" he asked, referring to the darts Alaric saved their asses with at the vampire house where Natalie and Stefan were tortured.

"Yeah. Why?" Natalie frowned.

"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires. I think we might need a stake or two." Damon explained quickly.

"On it." Natalie nodded quickly, running towards her car.

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After she had gotten the stake and darts, Natalie ran, looking for someone she knew that was involved with the supernatural world.

The first ones she found were Stefan and Elena.

Stefan was on the ground, groaning as he felt as a thousand needle penetrated his brain. Elena, on the other hand, was trying to reassure him that he was going to be okay, neither one of them noticed the deputy coming towards them, ready to vervain Stefan.

But Natalie wasn't about to let that happen.

"I've got this one. Get some other ones, it will get the job done more effectively." Natalie waved him away. The deputy nodded and ran away, making Natalie run to her sister and her sister's boyfriend.

"I don't know what happened, he just dropped." Elena exclaimed desperately as she looked up at the other brunette.

"Yeah, he's not the only one. Everyone who drops gets in injected with something. I'm guessing vervain." Natalie sighed.

"What?" Elena frowned dumbly.

Natalie closed her eyes in annoyance for a second. "They're rounding up the vampires."

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It didn't take long for Stefan to get better after Natalie showed up. The trio was standing together worriedly, Elena thinking deeply whilst Natalie was holding Stefan's hand worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Natalie asked, squeezing his hand worriedly.

"It was like needles were piercing my skull and it just stopped." Stefan responded, enjoying the feeling he got when Natalie was holding his hand, but feeling guilty as soon as he looked over at Elena.

"When I was searching for you guys I saw at least five vampires go down," Natalie said, before turning to Elena. "They're taking them to your dad's old building."

"It's the Gilbert's device. It has to be." Stefan sighed.

"But how did he get it to work? Bonnie unspelled it." Elena asked rhetorically, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Maybe she didn't." the youngest of the three suggested sheepishly, careful not to insult Elena's best friend.

"She did, we saw her do it!" the Petrova doppelganger snapped annoyedly.

Stefan frowned at Elena's harsh tone of voice towards Natalie, feeling like he should definetly defend her. "No, no, no, she's right. Think about it. We asked Bonnie to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires."

Elena glared at Stefan for a second, on behalf of his defending Natalie instead of her. "So we could protect you."

"And Damon. Vampires," Stefan retorted before the realization got to him. "Where is Damon?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since this started." Natalie frowned, her hand leaving Stefan's grip, making him frown in return.

"Can you get my brother? Take him home?" Elena asked Natalie, trying to get her away from harm's way.

"Hell no. I'll text my dad and he'll get him out of here." Natalie glared slightly.

"Fine, but stay safe." Stefan agreed.

"Let's go." Elena sighed, grabbing Stefan and Natalie's hands, dragging them with her.

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Soon after, the trio got sight of the old Gilbert apothecary.

But John Gilbert stepped in front of them, not wanting his daughters in harms way, as that was exactly what he and Isobel agreed wouldn't happen.

"Where is Damon?" Elena snapped harshly.

"With the rest of them, where he should be." John responded, before scanning over the disbelief on his daughters and Stefan's faces. "It's over for Damon."

"You're insane!" Natalie exclaimed, her eyes widening comically at her biological father.

John frowned in hurt for a moment of time as he heard his youngest daughter's harsh words. He knew that she didn't mean it literally, but he felt as if they were getting along, something he couldn't say about him and Elena. And he would admit that he may have started to favor Natalie slightly.

"Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done 145 years ago? This is the right thing, Natalie." John retorted, grabbing the brunette's arm harshly.

Stefan looked at John's grip on Natalie's arm for a moment before he looked over at the building, suddenly remembering Damon.

"Go ahead, you won't make it out. It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself." John smirked at him.

Stefan gave John a harsh stare before quickly turning back to Elena. "You know the building well, is there another way in?"

"Utility door, there's one around the side." Elena said, quickly reaching to follow him but John grabbed her arm, just like he did with Natalie.

"Either of you take one more step and I'll alert those deputies that they missed a vampire." John snapped.

Whilst Elena's expression became one of a kicked puppy at John's words, Natalie grew more defiant at the underlying threat to Stefan. "I'm asking you not to." Natalie glared.

"That doesn't mean anything to me." John retorted, lying slightly.

"As our father, it should." Natalie took a risk, even though it would be profoundly embarassing if that wasn't true.

The silence was deafening for a moment as the two stared, whilst Elena slowly got her arm out of John's grip (not that he noticed) and ran towards the building.

"You know. "John sighed, still not blinking as their gazes met once again.

"We weren't 100% sure. But now, I guess we are." Natalie sighed before wretching her arm out of his grip and running towards the burning building.

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Natalie got there exactly quick enough to hear Bonnie chanting in true witch fashion as she held Elena's arm to keep her from getting inside the burning building.

"Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum!" the dark-skinned witch chanted.

"Bonnie! Elena! What the hell is going on?" Natalie called out to them.

"She won't let me in!" Elena called back desperately.

But, just in time, Stefan and Damon Salvatore got out of the burning building.

Whilst Elena ran to Damon, making sure that he was okay, seeing as he was in the fire the longest, Natalie walked calmly over to Stefan.

His eyes were closed by as Natalie leaned down in front of him.

His first thought that wasn't hazy was something as cheesy as Did I die and come to heaven? If not why are there angels on earth?

"Stefan?" she asked, her voice echoing in his mind as he saw three of her. "Are you okay?"

He wasn't. But at least he would be.

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Mystic Falls Hospital

Caroline Forbes, Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood had gotten into a car accident.

Matt and Tyler were without a scratch, Caroline... not so much.

"Oh my god!" Natalie yelled as she ran through the hospital.

As soon as he saw her, Matt jumped up and held Natalie back.

"Let go of me! Let go of me!" Natalie yelled desperately, trashing around in Matt's grip as tears gathered in her eyes.

Caroline Forbes was the person that had done the most for her out of everyone she met in Mystic Falls. Sure, Damon and Stefan turned her mind around about vampires, Elena, Jeremy and Jenna gave her more Family and Matt was her friend. But none of these could really have happened without the help of the blonde girl. She accepted Natalie, she was there for Natalie, she helped Natalie, she cared about Natalie. Something that was more then Natalie could say about most friends she had during her life. And she was the best friend she ever had. She was the best friend she'd ever have. And the thought of losing that broke her in more ways then it should.

"Natalie! Natalie! You can't go in there! It's not gonna help her!" Matt snapped, still holding her back, but feeling her relaxing in his grip.

"But, she can't- she can't..." Natalie trailed off before she couldn't finish the sentence as a sob got through and a tear escaped her eye. And then it happened again. And again. And again.

And the only way Matt could help was by holding her tightly as she cried into his hold.

She felt completely broken.

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A/N: Now we're done with season 1 and I am so ready for season 2 because Stefan and Natalie will be so epic and Natalie will be so badass and everything will be so freaking Perfect.

I decided that since it was the season finale, I'd give you guys a little spoiler but not really: Statalie is slowburn. They're not gonna get together for a while. But when they're finally together it will be so worth it, like you have no idea. But Stefan already knows he feels something for her and Natalie will realize it soon-ish. And they will kiss before they get together (and it will happen next season, but I won't say when) *wink, wink*.

Also, if you have any ideas you think I should use in the story, or if you have any questions about the story or if you're just bored or any other reason, feel free to Message me because I'm so bored lately so please do.

Votes and comments are greatly appreciated.