three
the game.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH

"ELENA TOLD ME that Tyler threw a ball at you earlier and you miraculously caught it," Elsie informs as her and Stefan walk down the hallway a few days later. Her and Elena have made up, and she's completely past the vision she saw. "I didn't know you played football."

"I used to. It was a long time ago."

"You should try out for the team," Elsie suggests, giving him a hopeful look since their football team could use some better players. "If you're half as good as Elena made you out to be, you'll be the star player."

"I don't think so. I love football, and I think it's a great sport. But in this case, I don't think football likes me. Tyler and Matt don't seem to like me very much."

"Well, break out of the mysterious loner guy facade you put up and I'm sure they'll love you," Elsie declares, completely sure that they will. Her and Stefan have only known each other for a few days and are already great friends.

She waits for him to waver, but he doesn't budge. Eventually, she just shrugs. "Fine, Stef. If you change your mind, I'm sure I'll see you on the field."

"Why?" Stefan asks as she grins.

"I'm a cheerleader."

She tells him this as they walk into Mr.Tanner's class. Stefan takes a seat next to Elena and Elsie sits behind him. Elena looks at Elsie with the hope that she got Stefan to go out for the team. Elsie shakes her head. "He won't budge."

Mr.Tanner begins his lecture as Elena leans down and whispers to Stefan. "Psst. FYI—our team sucks. They could use you."

"Can't," Stefan whispers back, keeping his voice so low that only Elena and Elsie can hear. "I'm a loner."

The Donavan girl puts a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hold back her snickering as Mr.Tanner calls on Elena, knowing he's caught her off guard. "Miss Gilbert? Pearl Harbor?"

"Um..." Elena mumbles, racking her brain for the date and coming up with nothing.

Elsie knows the year but not the exact date, but that doesn't stop her from piping up to help her friend. "1941."

"December 7th, 1941, to be exact," Stefan answers, saving both girls.

Mr.Tanner nods, narrowing his eyes at Elsie and Stefan. "Thank you, Miss Gilbert."

"Any time," Stefan grins as the entire class laughs. This seems to trigger the teacher, which is why he decides to test the boy. The entire class watches this go down, amazed Stefan's memorized all of the dates.

"Very well. The fall of the Berlin Wall."

"1989. I'm good with dates, Sir."

"Are you? How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act."

"1964."

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"'68."

"Lincoln."

"1865."

"Roe vs. Wade."

"1973."

"Brown vs. Board."

"1954."

"The Battle of Gettysburg."

"1863."

"Korean War."

"1950 to 1953."

"Ha!" The teacher finally laughs victoriously in Stefan's face. "It ended in '52."

"Uh, actually, Sir, it was '53," Stefan corrects, sure of himself. Wanting to settle this, Mr.Tanner yells.

"Look it up, somebody. Quickly."

Elsie pulls out her phone and types it in as fast as she can. Sure enough, it says it ended in 1953. Elsie looks at Stefan, impressed. "Stefan's right. 1953."

The class applauds the Salvatore boy, but his eyes are only on Elena. She claps, just as impressed as Elsie.

Mr.Tanner continues class, being thrown off his game from being upstaged by a high school student. When the bell rings, Elsie piles out of the room with Elena and Stefan. "How'd you know all of that?"

"Years and years of crossword puzzles. It's a loner thing."

"Well, feel free to lend me some of those crossword puzzles," Elsie remarks before her and Elena part ways with Stefan.

The girls go to cheer practice, and Stefan ends up joining the football team. After school, Elena invites Stefan, Elsie, and Bonnie over, because Bonnie told Elena the other day that she thinks Stefan is bad news. Elsie and Elena want to convince her that he's a good person.

—

THE GILBERT'S HOUSE

"I got the goods!" Elsie cheers, walking into the Gilbert home without knocking. Elena gave her a key a few years ago, so she doesn't even bother anymore.

She holds a vanilla flavored cake in her hands, and it has several decorative witches on the top. She slams the front door closed behind her and locks it before hurrying into the kitchen. She sets the cake in the middle of the table as she sits down next to Elena. Bonnie takes one look at the cake before rolling her eyes playfully at Elsie. "Really, El?"

"What?" the Donavan girl shrugs, giggling. "This has nothing to do with what your Grams told you. It's nearly Halloween, so I was feeling festive."

Stefan looks at Bonnie curiously, wondering what her Grams said. Bonnie stays silent, so Elena explains. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie sighs, not sure what she thinks about everything her Grams has told her.

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800's."

"My family came by the way of Salem," Bonnie corrects the Salvatore boy, surprising him and Elsie. Bonnie hadn't told her about her family being from Salem. She listens to every word the duo say, intrigued.

"I would say that's pretty cool. Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity."

"Yeah, they are," a small smile finds its way onto the Bennett girl's face as the doorbell rings.

Elsie immediately jumps up and bounds towards the door curiously. "I've got it."

She opens the door to be met with one familiar face and one unfamiliar face. Caroline smiles, holding a fruit tray. "Surprise! Bonnie said you guys were doing dinner, so we brought some fruit."

"Uh, thanks?" Elsie deadpans as Elena, Stefan, and Bonnie join her at the door.

Elsie then looks at Caroline's boyfriend, slowly taking in his appearance. He has messy black hair, crystal blue eyes, and light skin. He's wearing a black shirt, black leather jacket, and dark denim jeans. There's something about him that catches Elsie's attention, but she's not sure what it is.

His lips quirk up into a small smile. "Hope you don't mind."

Stefan looks at him, clearly not happy to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in," Damon shrugs as Elsie looks between the duo, not having any idea that they're related.

"You two know each other?"

"Stefan's my baby brother," Damon quips as Elsie turns to her friend in surprise.

"You never mentioned any siblings."

"I didn't know about him till yesterday, either," Elena tells her friend, gingerly pushing a piece of dark hair behind her ear. "You can come-"

"No, no, no," Stefan cuts his girlfriend off, not trusting his brother to not hurt her. They're both vampires, but Damon is currently the only one that feeds on human blood. "He can't... he can't stay. Can you, Damon?"

"Get in here," Caroline insists, but she's not a resident of the house so she can't invite him in.

Stefan sighs, keen on not letting Damon in. "We were just finishing up."

"It's fine," Elena shrugs before smiling warmly at Damon, unaware of how she's welcoming a vampire into her home. "Just come on in."

Damon smirks at Stefan before stepping into the home. He looks around before turning back to Elena. "You have a beautiful home, Elena."

The group then head to the living room. Caroline and Damon squeeze onto the loveseat, Stefan and Elena sit on the couch, and Elsie and Bonnie sit down in chairs. Once everyone's comfortable, Caroline gasps at Stefan. "I cannot believe that Mr.Tanner let you on the team. Oh, Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."

"That's what I always tell him," Damon winks at his brother. "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"Me and Bonnie will work with her," Elsie decides, sitting back in her seat. "She'll have it down in no time."

"You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon remarks as Caroline responds carelessly.

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun. And I say that with complete sensitivity."

Elsie pales, remembering the accident like it was yesterday. Elena's parents were like the parents she never had. Her mother can't care to stay around for her, Matt, and Vicki and their dad left when they were young.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Damon apologizes, giving the Gilbert girl a somber look. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan pipes up, giving his brother a cautious look. Elsie shifts uncomfortably, noticing the tension between the siblings. It only gets worst when the next words leave Damon's mouth.

"Ah, you know what, you're right, Stef, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up."

"Uh, I'm gonna go do the dishes," Elsie stands up and flees the room in an effort to get out of the awkward situation.

She gathers all of the dishes they've dirtied tonight, cleans them off in the sink, and then loads them into the dish washer. She's about to start it when Damon walks into the room, holding a glass cup. "One more."

"Oh, I must've missed it," Elsie shrugs, smiling thankfully at him. "Thank you-"

She cuts off, gasping as the glass escapes Damon's hands. Both of them move to get it, but he gets it first, catching it right before it hits the ground. He offers it to her, and she giggles. "That was close, Damon. Nice save."

"I like you," the Salvatore admits, moving to the other side of the kitchen. "You know how to laugh, and you know how to make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a while."

"Well, I think me and Stefan are gonna be great friends," she informs, putting the cup into the dish washer and starting it. She then bites her lip, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Elena likes Stefan. Like really likes him. So earlier when you said you didn't wanna mention her, who were you talking about?"

"His ex, Katherine," Damon answers, a somber look crossing his face. "She died in a fire. A tragic fire that took the love of my life, Florence as well."

"Recently?"

"Well, it seems like it was yesterday," Damon sighs, missing Florence more than anything. "Not a day goes by that I don't think of Florence."

"What were they like?"

"Katherine was beautiful, but Florence was... something else. It was like she was crafted by God himself, if He's real. A lot like you in that department. Katherine was very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind. But very sexy and seductive. Florence was the opposite. She was selfless and kind. The smartest person I've ever known. They were best friends and balanced each other out."

"I'm sorry you lost her," the Donavan girl whispers, a sympathetic look coming across her face. "Losing the person you loved... I can't imagine what that must've felt like."

Damon's eyes widen and he stays silent, because not sure how to respond. Nobody's given him any genuine sympathy for losing Florence. Yet here Elsie is, clearly caring despite that they barely know each other.

——

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH

Elsie shows up to the football game the next night wearing her cheerleading uniform. Her blonde hair is pulled back into two french braids.

When she arrives, she's looking for Caroline, but the first person she sees is Stefan. She beams at him, taking in his football jersey. "Look at you, Stefan. I'm sure Elena will swoon when she sees you in your jersey."

"You don't look so bad yourself," Stefan responds, laughing as he looks her cheerleading uniform up and down.

"Elena might have quit, but the show must go on," Elsie flashes him her pom poms gleefully.

He admires her, realizing just how different she is from Florence. Florence was kind but she was also calculating and cunning. Elsie has no malicious intents whatsoever. She doesn't even seem capable of hate.

Elsie also doesn't seem to know about the powers that lay dormant in her. Florence was a very powerful witch and Elsie is clearly her doppelgänger. Stefan knows Elsie must be adopted, but he doesn't know that she belongs to the strongest family of witches on the planet.

He doesn't know this, because he doesn't know what Florence's real last name was. She told the Salvatore's that her last name was Castle, which is oddly close to her true last name.

"I hope you don't think this is weird, but I, uh, got you something," he says, pulling a small wooden box from his pocket.

He opens it to reveal a silver necklace with two small black and green stones on it. The black one is a moon stone and the green one is a witch's emerald.

She gingerly removes it from the box and takes it in her hands. "Stefan, it's beautiful, but shouldn't you be giving this to Elena?"

"Well, I was going through some of my old stuff and found it last night. It reminded me of you," Stefan sighs, leaving out the part that the necklace once belonged to Florence. "I want you to have it, because you're the closest thing I've had to a best friend in a long time."

"Oh, well, thank you," she sniffs the necklace, finding that it has a sweet scent. "Is that- rose?"

"No, it's an herb," Stefan corrects her, that smell being vervain.

It'll protect her from being compelled. Stefan knows she comes from a line of witches, but she also appears to be susceptible to vampire's tricks. He believes her powers are bound, which would explain why she doesn't know about her powers and why she can be compelled.

"I love it. Help me put it on?" She moves around and offers it to him. Stefan takes it as she pulls her braids to the side. He puts the necklace around her neck, feeling much better since she's now safe from compulsion. Once he's done, he rests his hands on her bare shoulders.

"I wanted to thank you for pushing me to try out for the team. It feels really good."

"Any time, Salvatore," she turns around and pats him on the shoulder. "I'm just glad you broke out of your whole loner facade-"

She trails off as the pair hear a commotion break out a few yards away. A crowd has gathered around a fight and the pair push their way through the crowd until they see that Jeremy and Tyler are fighting.

Tyler's got Jeremy on the ground, punching him repeatedly and without remorse. Vicki stands nearby, begging Tyler to stop.

Elsie moves to intervene when Stefan pushes past her and rushes over to Tyler. "Hey, he's down! Enough!"

Stefan catches Tyler's fist. Tyler turns to the Salvatore boy, this action only making him angrier. He punches Stefan in the gut, but Stefan doesn't even flinch.

Elsie then watches in horror as Jeremy picks a broken bottle off of the ground. He stands up and Elsie runs over to them, shoving Tyler out of the way as Stefan blocks Jeremy with his hand.

Jeremy takes a step back, realizing what he just did. He drops the broken bottle as Elena breaks through the crowd, glaring at her brother. "What the hell, Jeremy?"

Elena continues to yell at Jeremy as Elsie walks over to Stefan, looking at his hand worriedly. "Oh, my God. Your hand. How deep is it?"

She attempts to assess the wound, but Stefan closes his hand and hides it from her. He fights her until he feels the wound completely heal and then he opens his hand to reveal that there's nothing there. No wound, no blood, nothing.

She releases him, growing shocked. "But I saw him cut you-"

"He missed," Stefan cuts her off, unable to let her know that he healed so quickly since he's a vampire. "I'm fine."

"No, no, no," she insists, taking a step away from him. "I swear I saw him cut you."

"It's ok. I'm ok. It's almost kick-off time, so I'll see you after the game."

He leaves, and she watches him go helplessly, not knowing what to say. She knows she saw the glass cut his hand, yet there's nothing there.

So she does the only thing she can do—she goes to the sidelines and cheers. Then she gets cold, so she heads to her car to get a jacket.

However, she stops in her tracks when she sees a man laying on the ground in the parking lot. She hastily approaches him, only to find that its Mr.Tanner. He's not moving and has a bite mark on his neck.

"Oh, my God," she gasps, dropping down beside him and presses her hand to his neck to see if he has a pulse. When she realizes he doesn't have one, she begins to yell fearfully. "Somebody help! Help me! Please!"

Someone hears her screaming and calls the cops. They arrive within ten minutes, at which point Mr.Tanner is pronounced dead and Sheriff Forbes takes Elsie in for questioning. Elsie is there for a few hours until Elena comes and gets her.

She decides to spend the night in Elena's guest room, and she falls asleep the second her head hits the pillow. She doesn't bother changing into pajamas, because she's exhausted.

What she doesn't know is that Damon was the one who killed Mr.Tanner. This makes Stefan believe that there's nothing human left in his brother. No good, no kindness. No love. He's just a monster who must be stopped.

Despite this, Damon slips into the room where she's sleeping peacefully. He watches her sleep and caresses her face gently.

UNEDITED