CHAPTER THREE;
maddening

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CAMILA JAMES GILBERT WAS GOING MAD. She was sure of it and, honestly, she was loving every second of the madness.

It pushed the guilt and grief away to the back of her mind, it was the perfect distraction, a blissful and liberating torture. It felt familiar. It felt like a piece of her was being brought back with every voice in her head, with every nightmare, with every flash of images in her mind.

And Stefan Salvatore was calling for her madness. She felt a tug in her stomach every time she was near him, a sense of familiarity like she'd seen his eyes before. She trusted him, mostly, and she didn't know why. Which was awfully strange. But her instincts dictated it and she was not about to question them.

"His name is Stefan Salvatore," said Caroline as she smiled like an old gossip lady, her eyes shining with excitement. "He lives with uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid... Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue."

"You got all of that in one day?" asked Bonnie incredulously and Caroline scoffed.

"Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period," she said, before turning to Camila, "Fact check please."

A grin grew on her face and Camila tapped her chin in thought. "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives in the house but I'm not sure Zack has any nephews, at least not close. He hasn't lived here in a long time though he says he's never even been here, and... I guess the Military family is right, but I don't think that's the reason he's moved around a lot. Also, his favorite color is broody."

Bonnie let out a laugh, "How do you know all this?"

Caroline waved her off, "Cami is like a witch. She just knows things sometimes."

"I don't know them, Care. It's just... intuition."

"A witch?" Bonnie perked up, her eyebrows rose on her forehead. Camila smiled in amusement. "Have you been talking to Grams?"

"No..." Camila frowned.

Bonnie was about to say something when Camila's phone rang. She took it out of her pocket and saw Jenna calling. Excusing herself from her friend she picked up the phone, "Hey, Jenny!"

"Mila," said Jenna, using the nickname her mother used to use for her, Camila shoved the pang in her heart away. "Just to let you know, Elena's meeting you there, and... Is Jeremy there by any chance?"

Camila looked around, spotting her brother looking like a lost emo puppy by the pool tables. "Yeah. By the way, Jenny, my sweet aunt, can I sleep over at a friend's house today?"

"Will you be at school tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

Jenna sighed. "Sure. Just make sure Jeremy goes home with Elena, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am. Good night, Jenny."

"Good night, Mila."

Camila hung up her phone and looked to the side to see Caroline sipping on her drink as she leaned over the bar, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Does Jenna know where you're going tonight?" asked Caroline with a sly grin and Camila shrugged innocently.

"She knows I'm staying at a friend's house."

"Friend?" Caroline choked on her drink, purposely making it seem as if she was gasping for air and hanging on to Camila as if she was her lifeline. Finally, Caroline took a deep breath and let out a laugh. "Honey, if Nate's your friend then what am I?"

Camila scowled. "You're my sister, you bitch."

Caroline's lips parted before a squeal left her lips and she hugged Camila tightly. "And don't you forget it, Cami."

Camila was about to reply when Caroline pulled away but right the next moment the blonde jammed her elbow into the girl's ribs.

Camila's head snapped towards the door just as Elena walked in, Stefan Salvatore behind her. Camila's lips twitched into a smile, and then Stefan's gaze found hers. He gave her a small smile and turned away as Elena led him towards the table where Bonnie was sitting and Matt—who awkwardly greeted Stefan—was leaving.

"Come on!" Camila and Caroline said at the same time and let out a laugh as they made their way to their table.

Soon, all four girls were sitting at the table and promptly interrogating the new guy.

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" asked Caroline.

Stefan nodded. "And moved when I was still young."

"You told me you've never been here," pointed out Camila and Stefan grimaced slightly.

"Not that I remember."

"Parents?" questioned Bonnie.

Stefan paused for a moment, his eyes meeting Elena's and traveling to Camila's before he cleared his throat, "My parents passed away."

Elena's eyes filled with understanding, "I'm sorry."

Stefan nodded and Camila remained quiet. What was she supposed to say? Was she sorry Stefan's parents died? She had nothing to do with that, and she especially hated when people apologized for her own parents' deaths.

"Any siblings?" asked Elena, changing the subject.

"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle."

"But you do have siblings then," Camila concluded and Stefan shrugged. Her eyes narrowed in a challenge and her lips tugged into a smirk, "Older brother?"

Stefan frowned slightly but nodded and Camila smiled victoriously.

"See?" said Caroline, "She just knows stuff."

"I figured it out, I didn't know," corrected Camila. But did she? Stefan gave off clear younger sibling vibes and the way he had said he didn't talk to his brother made Camila understand that their relationship was much more complicated than just bickering brothers. It was her intuition telling her, she didn't just know.

"So, Stefan, if you're new," began Caroline, "then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back to school thing at the falls," explained Bonnie.

Stefan hesitated, his eyes glancing over at Camila before settling on Elena, "Are you going?"

"Of course she is," said Bonnie.

"Are you?" Stefan asked looking at Camila.

Caroline rolled her eyes, answering before she could, because apparently, Gilberts couldn't speak for themselves anymore. "She says she'll drop by," said the blonde mimicking Camila with a raspy voice and the girl in questioned scowled.

"I swear I will! But I hate the forest and fog is bad for my hair."

•••

Trees were high enough to cover the starry night sky, the night dark enough to make everything look colorless. She didn't know how she got there, why she was running through the woods, her feet bare of shoes and victim to the pebbles and twigs on the ground piercing through her heels as she ran for her life.

Her life? Camila stumbled on a root of a tree and fell to the ground with a groan, turning quickly on her back and trying to scramble to her feet as whoever was chasing her got closer.

Only said person shoved her with a foot and Camila fell back. She looked up and through the gaps in foliage that allowed the moonlight to streak through, she saw her sister's face.

Elena was wearing a tunic, an old dress, and her hair was impossibly longer. But what surprised Camila was a venomous sneer on her face, the sword in her hands pointed straight to Camila's heart.

The girl's eyes widened in horror as she tried to plead with Elena, to make her remember they were sisters, that they were friends, but no words came out of her mouth.

"You always thought you were better than me," her sister was saying, "But you envied my relationship with Silas. I had something you never could have so you betrayed me."

"Amara, no," her voice said, and she couldn't stop herself from talking, "Qetsiyah looked into my mind. You're my sister I would never betray you."

"You're begging for forgiveness because now I'm stronger than you," Elena—Amara?—said. "Silas gave me that gift."

"Qetsiyah will kill you," Camila found herself saying in plea but Amara seemed blinded by whatever rage and hatred she had. And Camila didn't know how to escape her.

"I'm sorry sister. You weren't good enough."

Camila let out a scream as Amara stabbed the sword through her chest, gasping at the feeling of the silver metal, blood pooling in her mouth, stopping her from breathing, drowning her in the very liquid that once gave her life—

Camila gasped for air sitting up on the bed. She panted, raising a hand through her chest where she could still feel the ghost of the sword piercing through skin.

"Cami?" a gruff voice muffled through a pillow called her and Camila turned to the side to see Nathan turning on his back and looking up at her with furrowed brows. "Another nightmare?"

Taking a deep breath Camila nodded. She lowered herself back on the bed and snuggled against Nathan who pulled her closer. "I died this time," she said with a small laugh that didn't quite sound real.

Nathan nodded, running a hand through her hair, "You're alive now, so I don't think it stuck."

That time she let out a real laugh and lifted herself on one elbow to look down at one of her best friends. She smiled as she traced his jaw. The nightmare might've been... off-putting, but it certainly took her mind away from everything. The nightmare and Nathan's amused smile as he looked up at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

Nathan shrugged. "You're acting like my girlfriend."

"I'm a girl," she said, kissing his jaw, "and I'm your friend. And I can act like whatever the fuck I want."

A laugh left his lips and Camila grinned as she pulled away from his face, looking down at him again. He brushed some hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear with a smile, "Best friend," he corrected.

"Don't tell Caroline... But you might be my best friend too."

He grinned. "I'd never tell her. She'd kill me."

"Speaking of Caroline... have you met the new guy yet?"

"Salvatore?" Nate asked and Camila nodded. He shook his head. "I wasn't at the Grill last night, so no."

"He's coming to the party at the Falls. Caroline invited him but he's seriously in love with my sister already."

Nathan hissed with a grimace. "Caroline is not gonna like that."

"She's a big girl, she can deal." Camila grinned as she sat up again, straddling Nathan's waist, and lowering herself on her elbows kissing him for a moment. "Meanwhile, we have to take advantage of an empty house."

"My house is always empty," Nathan pointed out.

It was true. Nathan's parents were always on business trips only dropping by when they felt like it, rarely checking up on their son. He didn't seem to mind much, and every time Camila brought it up he brushed it off. He was mostly always at her house anyway, well... Unless they wanted to take advantage of an empty house.

"And that's why we always take advantage of it," replied Camila with a grin, squealing when Nathan flipped them around, hovering over her.

"You can wake me up like this anytime you want, James."

Camila scrunched up her nose, hitting him in the shoulder. "I hate it when you call me that."

"It's your middle name."

"And?"

Nathan shrugged, a grin on his face, "I'm the only one that calls you that," he said before sinking to her lips, deepening the kiss.

•••

"You stayed with Nate last night?" Matt asked Camila leaning back on his chair as Tanner droned on about town history in the front of the class. Camila nodded. "What's the deal with you guys?"

"We're friends, Matt." Why did everyone keep asking that?

"No. We're friends," he said with a snort, "You guys are something else."

"If you want the benefits too all you have to do is ask," Camila said with a wink and Matt grimaced making her laugh. "Kidding. But honestly, Nate and I are friends."

Matt nodded unconvinced, "Do you know anything about Elena and the new—"

"Mr. Donovan?" Tanner called their attention back to the front of the class and Matt snapped back into place. "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype and answer the question?"

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it."

Camila let out a laugh and regretted it immediately as Tanner's eyes zeroed in on her. "Camila? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

Camila pursed her lips, not even knowing what the question was in the first place, but went with her gut, Tanner was a sucker for the Battle of Willow Creek and the teacher loved talking about casualties. "There were 346 casualties, sir. Well, unless you count civilian casualties."

Camila held her breath as she gauged Tanner's reaction trying to see if she was anywhere near the question he asked and at last, he nodded. "Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

"Actually, there were 27, sir," said Stefan from a few seats away from Camila and the latter snapped her head to him, meeting his eyes with a smirk playing on her lips. Stefan winked her way.

"I'm afraid you're wrong, Mr..."

"Salvatore," replied Stefan before adding, "Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. 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."

Camila let out a laugh and leaned over her desk, poking Elena with a pen. Her sister turned back, an amused smile still on her face.

"He's a history buff, Lena," she said with a grimace, "are you sure you like him?"

She grinned as she saw Stefan perk up in his seat and Elena rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Cami."

"Just saying. Who knows Mystic Falls' history without even living here?"

"He's smart." Elena shrugged, her lips twitching up.

"Is he though? What smart person would fall for you instead of me?" Camila asked, with no hint of malice in her tone, just pure provocation and amusement.

Elena let out a laugh. "Tell me again, is Nate smart?"

"We're not dating!" hissed Camila just as Tanner cleared his throat trying to get the attention of the class again.

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