Twelve
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Chapter twelve: Founders party
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Vincent Salvatore made his daily morning visit to the grill. He compelled the workers to pour some vervain into the pots of coffee brewing. It was his only current solution on how to keep Emily safe from his brothers compulsion. As if on cue, Emily walked through the doors and right up to the counter to order her coffee.
She fixed her bag over her shoulders before she finally saw him. She gave a sheepish smile and waved. Since she was being too awkward to, Vincent walked over to say hi.
She waved as he approached. "Hey."
"Hi. I haven't seen you since that dreadful dinner at your house."
Emily laughed. "Yeah."
"I heard about your teacher, sorry about that."
"Yeah, it's strange, I hated the guy but it still doesn't feel real that he's dead. I walked into his class the other day expecting to see him but there was a substitute and then I was reminded that he's really dead." She told him staring at her hands.
"I saw on the news that they caught the animal, that's good." Vincent recalled earlier that morning seeing it on the news and his older brothers jokes about the matter.
"Which is also strange, because mountain lions don't attack in public places like that. I get the first time because it was a party in the woods but in a school parking lot, after a game with crowds of people, super unlikely- I'm rambling, sorry."
"No, you're fine." Vincent reassured. He loved hearing her voice, and he hadn't heard it in over a week. He had begun to feel withdrawals.
"To sum it up, it was just weird and uncommon." Emily was handed her coffee and she immediately took a sip, ignoring the scorching heat that took place on her tongue, leaving the familiar stinging-numbness. Hoping the action would hide her red cheeks. "I should get going, I have to help my sister with a few loans for the founders party today."
"Founders party? They still do those?" Vincent mindlessly asked, thinking back to the first one he attended, how exhausting it was playing Switzerland between his two brothers featuring over Katherine. Who in Vincent's opinion was not worth it.
"Have you been?"
Vincent shook his head breaking from the memories. "Uh, no my uncle used to attend them." He lied. He couldn't just tell her he'd been one hundred and forty-four years ago. "It was nice seeing you."
Emily smiled. "Yeah same." She waved as she made her way out of the grill, with her coffee in hand and flushed cheeks.
✧ ✧ ✧
Emily, Elena and Bonnie were getting ready for the party in Elena's bedroom.
"You should ask him." Elena said.
Emily looked up from her make up bag. "Hm?"
"Ask Vincent to go with you to the founders party."
Emily squinted up at her sister, "Like as my date?"
"Yeah." Elena watched her sisters face contort into mortification. "Or as friends. Whatever suits you."
"Or you can take me!" Bonnie chimed, smiling at Emily. Elena gave Bonnie a knowing look. Bonnie sighed. "I think it would be good for you to ask him. Maybe you'll have some fun with a guy as mundane and boring as you." She grumbles. "I'll just have to ask Caroline to take me."
"Or you could go with Ruby or Nora." Elena offered.
"Ruby already has a date and Nora's been at our grams house for the last four days." Bonnie says.
"It's too late, he's definitely the kind of guy that hates last minute things ." Emily told them both. From what she gathered from Vincent he's a very put together guy, she couldn't just show up at his front door with some last minute proposal.
"Not if the last minute thing is you. Say you'll do it." Elena urged.
"I'll do it." Emily grumbled.
Elena squinted her eyes at her sister. "Say it like you mean it."
"I will asks Vincent Salvatore to the founders party, but if he rejects me and it ends in my demise I will kill you in your sleep, change my identity and leave the country." Emily smiles.
Bonnie shrugs. "I believe her."
✧ ✧ ✧
Emily walked up the gravel path towards the Salvatore boarding house. She'd never been before and she couldn't help the way her jaw nearly hit the ground. She paused, staring up at house in awe, taking in everything, and trying to resist turning back around with her dignity still intact. At the steps she straightened out the grey-blue dress that Bonnie had picked out for her and knocked. An older man she recognized as Zach Salvatore answered.
He barely looked at her as he opened the door. "Hello, Elena, Stefan just headed your way." He said quickly.
"Emily." She corrected. "Is Vincent home?"
"Oh, yeah, he's up in his room."
As if he heard her arrival, Vincent walked down the stairs. "Hey. What are you doing here-" Vincent words trailed off and he was immediately distracted by the dress she was wearing and how beautiful she looked.
Emily took a deep breath and vowed to make her sister pay for all the anxiety this was causing her, "I came to invite you to the founders party, as my date. I know it's last minute sorry-"
"I'd love to." Vincent said once he realized what was happening. "Give me like twenty minutes."
"Come in." Zach smiled, opening the door to allow Emily to enter. She did and walked through the foyer to the sitting room. Still amazed by their house. Vincent had disappeared to go upstairs.
Emily walked around the foyer with her arms behind her back as if she we were a child in a museum and anything she touched would break. She let her eye travel along the books on the shelf. All old and dusty, she made a mental note to see if she could borrow them some time. After pacing for a few minutes she wandered into another room, where a door caught her eye. Curiosity took over her and she opened it, but it was quickly shut, causing her to jump back.
She saw the green ring on the finger of the hand that lay flat against the wooden door. She quickly recognized it as Vincent's.
"I'm so sorry, I was snooping." She apologized and admitted, putting her hands behind her back again. "Self control I could use some."
"You're fine, It's just, that's uncle Zach's territory and he doesn't even like me or my brothers going down there." Vincent lied with a smile. It was better than telling Emily the truth.
That there's basically a dungeon down there along with a freezer full of blood bags.
"Shall we?" Vincent nodded towards the door and Emily obliged.
Emily still wanted to go down to the basement.
✧ ✧ ✧
Vincent walked up the line to enter the Lockwood mansion, with Emily on his side. When they reached the entrance the Mayor and Mrs. Lockwood greeted them.
"Hi Emily, welcome." Mrs. Lockwood smiled.
"Hi Mrs. Lockwood. Um this is Vincent Salvatore." Emily motioned towards Vincent.
"Ah another Salvatore, you guys are just spawning everywhere." Carol laughed shaking his hand. Emily began to enter the building, but Vincent stayed in his place. Waiting to be invited in.
"Don't be shy, come on in." Carol said, Vincent smiled and stepped through the threshold of the door.
After entering, the two met up with Stefan and Elena. The couple were looking at all the old artifacts.
"The founding families of mystic falls welcomes you to the inaugural Founders Council Celebration." Elena read. "Wow look it's the original guest registry."
Vincent's face flashed with alarm, along with Stefan's.
Emily walked to stand beside her sister and read the old guest list.
"Look at all the familiar names. Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood." Elena paused. "Is that Damon Salvatore? And Vincent and Stefan Salvatore?" She looked at the two confused.
"The original Salvatore brothers." Damon's voice cut in. They all turned away from the registry to find Damon approaching with Caroline. "Our ancestors, tragic story, actually."
"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," said Stefan.
Vincent cringed at the memories. To think he'd lost his life and became a vampire all because his brothers fell for a girl. If he could call her that, she was really the devil in disguise. Every time he looked at Elena he saw Katherine, he didn't know how his brother could distinguish the difference between the two.
"It's not boring, Stefan." Elena says.
"I'd love to know." Emily agreed.
"Well I'm bored. I wanna dance. And Damon won't dance with me." Caroline said. "Could I just borrow your date, Elena?" She asked.
Elena laughed awkwardly.
"I don't really dance." Stefan claims.
"Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all." Damon said smugly. Vincent knew his brother was up to something, but he didn't want to stick around and find out. So instead he offered his hand to Emily, and nodded the other way. She gladly and almost too quickly accepted.
"Your brother sure knows how to make things uncomfortable." She muttered as they took the dance floor. "So tell me about the tragic history of the original Salvatore brothers."
Vincent sighed. "It was during the time of the battle of Willow creek. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with innocents in it, the original Salvatore's must've had someone they cared about inside and tried to get to them. All three were shot."
"That sucks."
Yeah it did. Vincent thought.
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Author speaks ~
Been a while but I'm back. Getting past act one of this story is on my agenda for the fall-winter, so hopefully I'll be more active.
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