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FIVE:
CAR WASH

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BRIAR BROUGHT THE PLATES TO THE LOCKWOODS, offering a polite smile to them all. While things were tense with Tyler, he hadn't been antagonistic to her or Seth yet, just people she cared about.

His parents were a different story already.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Carol Lockwood smiled politely. Briar moved to walk away, but the woman grabbed her hand. "Stay a moment. We've got questions for our resident new girl."

"Why?" Briar asked, narrowing her eyes.

There goes her tip.

"Excuse me?" Richard raised his eyebrows.

"Why do you guys care?" She asked with a shrug. "I haven't heard of you guys bombarding Stefan Salvatore with questions."

"Well," Carol's smile tightened. "It's different with you."

Briar glanced to Tyler, who stared down at the table with wide-eyes. At least he looked semi-apologetic, or at least embarrassed. That gave her some hope for the future of this dumb town.

"Why's that?" Briar questioned harshly.

"Because you're...unique," Richard smiled tensely. "You're from a side we don't often see."

"Because I'm Indigenous?" Briar questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"It's okay to say Indian," Carol corrected. Briar's anger flared. She noticed Tyler shaking his head. "You know, we should celebrate you coming. Put on a whole festival. What is it you all wear with the feathers...? We should have a competition to see who can make the best one! You can perform your powwow and —"

"—I'm gonna stop you right there," Briar cut in. "And leave."

Briar turned quickly, shaking her head in disbelief, walking over to Vicki, who was serving Bonnie and Caroline.

"Switch me," she demanded, meeting Vicki's eyes. "He's your weird boyfriend."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked in concern, noticing her flushed cheeks and trembling hands. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Briar snapped, then softened a bit. "Sorry, lovely," she quickly amended, then turned back to Vicki, pleading. "Please. They're so racist, and I—I can't do that."

"Yeah, I got it," Vicki nodded. "You okay?"

"Fine," Briar nodded. "Tyler didn't do anything," she added at Vicki's disappointed gaze in his direction. "But he didn't correct them, either."

"Got it," Vicki nodded, squeezing her arm softly before walking off.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked again. "I know how the Lockwoods can be, my Gram and I have heard it all. Tyler's not that bad, but...they're not great, either."

"I'm fine," Briar nodded, gaze softening at Bonnie, attention flickering to Caroline. "You guys want any drinks?"

"Take a second," Caroline looked at her worriedly. "Seriously, it's okay. We're fine. Whenever you're good."

Briar smiled gratefully at the pair. "I'll bring waters over, give me a second."

"No rush, Briar," Bonnie smiled comfortingly and Briar hurried off into the kitchen, slamming her tray down angrily.

Fuck this town.

—

Bonnie asked Briar to go with her to the Founder's Party, but at the last minute, changed her mind.

Briar knew why.

It was a lot to come out, especially around a group of people instead of just her close friends.

Briar didn't mind. She spent the night with Seth, facetiming Edward and Bella and baby Renesmee, ignoring the world outside and wishing they were back in Forks.

But they didn't belong there anymore. Even if Briar's heart clenched at the thought of her family, of people she'd left behind...

She was better off here.

Better off with Seth and Jacob and her imprint.

Her pack and her imprint.

Stupid Stefan Salvatore.

—

A knock on the front door woke Briar from her slumber. Shoving Seth's head from her lap and stumbling up, she closed the laptop and walked to the front door.

Another knock.

"I'm coming!" Briar exclaimed, rubbing her head and opening the door. "Oh, fuck me," she whined at the sight of Stefan Salvatore before her.

"We need to talk," Stefan stated, looking her over. "Maybe...you should get dressed?"

Briar looked down to her outfit, then up at him and shrugged. "I'll brush my teeth. Seth's asleep, be right back."

"Can I come in?" He asked.

Briar looked him over, narrowing her eyes. "On second thought, I'm gonna go change. Be right back. Stay."

A small smile tugged at his lips as Briar shut the door behind her, jogging upstairs and quickly getting ready before coming back down.

She flicked Seth's head on the way and left a sticky note on his cheek before grabbing her back and opening the front door. "Okay, let's go," she nodded to his car. "I gotta get to school anyway, and Seth'll just be late later. You drive me."

"You sure?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm not scared of you," Briar shrugged, walking to his car. "Come on, Spike, let's go."

Stefan chuckled, opening his driver's side door and getting in next to her. "Spike?"

"I love Buffy," Briar shrugged. "I'm sure you have questions, you can ask."

"Will you answer them?" He inquired, backing out of the driveway.

"Depends on the question. We can go back and forth if you'd like," she suggested. "I have questions for you."

"You do?" Stefan asked curiously, setting the car in drive. "I thought you knew, since you got it right that I'm a vampire."

"That your first question?"

"No," Stefan smiled softly. "How do you know I'm a vampire?"

"Too loaded," Briar responded. "Narrow down your question."

Stefan thought for a moment. "Is the Quileute legend true?" He asked curiously. "I met Harry Hobucket," he admitted. "He told me all about your tribe, your legends, your history."

Briar's eyes widened in surprise. She'd presumed he'd met her leaders, but that far back? He wrote a book about their legends, which was frowned upon by the Council, but eventually allowed to be released under strict regulations.

"It is," Briar nodded. "Seth, Jake, and I are all shifters."

"Shifter?" He asked curiously. "I thought you were wolves."

"Technically," Briar nodded. "We're wolves, but that's specific to our tribe. There are werewolves, dictated by the moon. That's not us."

"Interesting," Stefan nodded. "So you can shift whenever you want?"

Briar nodded. "Yeah," she informed him. "Sometimes it takes over me, though. I've learned to control it, but if I get too angry...I can't."

"That sounds stressful," he glanced to her. "I'm sorry."

Briar shrugged. "It's worth it," she admitted. "Seth jokes I'm more wolf than person. I love being a wolf, I wouldn't change it for anything. My pack is...everything to me. And so is my tribe."

"I thought the legend could only be activated in the presence of vampires," Stefan recalled. "Is that not the case?"

"It is," Briar nodded. "And we had some...vampire stuff the past couple years that caused us to shift. What about you?"

Stefan blinked. "What?" He asked.

"How are you a vampire?"

Stefan frowned at her question, looking over her face at the light. "I...was turned in 1864," he confessed. "My...ex-girlfriend, Katherine, she used Damon and I. We were turned the night she died."

"Sucks, bro," Briar shrugged.

Stefan chuckled. "You're interesting," he glanced to her again. "I didn't expect it to be this...easy. Talking to you."

Briar sighed. "I'm a fun person," she met his gaze and wiggled his eyebrows. "So fun you just might fall in love with me."

Stefan's eyes widened, opening his mouth to object when she grinned, bursting into laughter.

"Got ya!"

Relief flooded his gaze and he nodded, grinning. "Yeah, you're definitely something."

"So, tell me about your kind of vampire," Briar requested. "How's that work?"

"Well," Stefan started. "I drink from animals," he started and Briar nodded, making the connection to the Cullens. "It makes me less strong than people like my brother, who drink from the vein, but...I have trouble with that."

Her heart sank at his words. "I have a friend like that," she admitted softly. "He's new to the vegetarian thing, too." His eyes snapped to hers as he pulled into the parking spot. "He struggles. But we still love him."

"Really?" He asked, swallowing. "I...I don't like who I am like that."

"I know," Briar nodded. "Neither does he."

A brief understanding settled between them and Stefan cleared his throat, looking ahead for a second. "I can burn in the sun," he fiddled with a ring on his finger and Briar's eyes moved to it. "But I don't because a witch cast a spell on this, and made it so I can walk. It's called a daylight ring."

Briar blinked in surprise. "Wait, witches are real?" She asked curiously. "I didn't think that was a thing."

"It is," Stefan nodded, then added. "I think Bonnie's one. Keep an eye on her."

"I'm not spying for you," Briar said hotly. "I wanna keep an eye on Bonnie, but not in the way that you—"

"—No," Stefan smiled again, shaking his head. "Keep her safe, I mean. Bennett's a strong line. I don't her hurt. She's important to Elena."

"I'll protect her."

"I'll protect Elena."

"I don't want Elena involved," Briar frowned. "It's only going to end in bloodshed."

Stefan sighed, looking away. "I like her," he confessed quietly. "She's...effortless. And makes me forget about what I am."

"And when she discovers it?" Briar inquired. "How much magic will be there when the dust settles?"

Stefan didn't answer and Briar offered a sympathetic smile. She grabbed a sticky note from her bag and wrote down her phone number, leaving it on his dashboard.

"See you in history, Salvatore, text me if you need me."

—

"Hey, Bonnie Bennett," Briar smiled at the girl, leaning against the locker next to hers. "Fancy seeing you here."

"At school?" Bonnie grinned, pulling out a textbook. "Wherein I attend to learn different subjects?"

"Precisely," Briar nodded. "Hey, you free tonight?"

Bonnie's eyes darted to hers, smile falling a bit. "Briar, I..."

"No pressure," Briar's smile softened. "When you're ready. Or...we can just be friends."

"I don't want that," Bonnie said quickly, closing her eyes and adjusting her words. "I mean, I...would like to spend time with you. As more than friends. I just...need some time."

"Okay," Briar nodded. "Call me when you're ready." She looked at Bonnie seriously. "The best things in life are worth waiting for."

—

The idea of Bonnie in a swimsuit and Seth's pleading were the only reason Briar showed up to the "sexy spuds car wash" fundraiser Caroline planned, wearing a bikini top and shorts.

She stood next to Bonnie, Seth across from her in loose shorts and his hair pulled back, winking at a couple swooning girls. Matt stood next to him, watching Elena and Stefan longingly.

"Uh uh," Bonnie shook her head at Matt. "None of that tortured pining stuff."

"I'm just observing," Matt denied with a teasing smile.

"Sure," Briar rolled her eyes. "And those girls are just observing Seth."

The trio looked to a group of blondes, who were giggling when Seth winked in their direction.

"Think they're watching?" Seth grinned excitedly to Briar.

"Considering you have huge abs, babes, I'd say yeah," Briar nodded.

"Score," Seth offered Matt a high-five, who participated and gave a baffled look to Bonnie.

"Oh," Bonnie looked to one of the other girls and pointed to a red car. "Tiki, this one's yours."

Tiki rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why do I always get the homely ones?" She asked aloud. Briar and Seth exchanged a look, the amusement gone from their faces. "Just to be clear," Tiki looked to a blonde boy who watched her like a kicked puppy. "Your car's a POS. I mean, we can wash it, but it's still a POS."

"So's your face, bitch," Briar snapped, grabbing her sponge and towel. "I'll clean it," she smiled at the guy, winking. "I like older cars anyway."

Tiki watched in stunned silence as Briar lightly flirted with the blonde, enjoying his blush and stumbling words.

Was she into him? No. But she wouldn't let some rich bitch like Tiki — who the fuck is named that anyway? — treat him like garbage because of where he came from. She was lucky Briar didn't deck her.

"You don't have to be rude," Briar heard Bonnie tell Tiki off.

"No, rude is uglying up the road with that junk," Tiki scoffed. "Let the Redskin handle it, I've got better things to do."

Before Briar could say anything, Seth was walking to Tiki. "Watch your mouth," he said harshly. "It's Indigenous or Native American. Educate yourself and back up. Talk to her like that again, we'll have a problem."

"The fuck does it matter?" Tiki asked. "It's all the same thing."

"Tiki!" Bonnie snapped, scowling at the girl. "Go find something else to do, you're done with the car wash."

"You can't just kick me out," Tiki protested, looking between the two. "I'm on the team."

"Not when I talk to Caroline, you're not," Bonnie shrugged. "Bye."

Tiki scoffed in disbelief, mumbling to herself and tossing down her towel before storming off.

"Thanks," Seth smiled kindly to Bonnie, but it didn't quite meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie apologized, looking from him to Briar. "Sometimes, people just—"

"—We get it," Seth cut her off, nodding. "Hey, I'm, uh, gonna get a water. B, need anything?"

Briar shook her head, looking at him meaningfully. She knew he was going to go cool off before he shifted in front of everyone. "I'm fine, Seth, thanks."

"Cool, be back."

He was walking off in the opposite direction as Tiki before anyone could say anything.

"I'm sorry," Matt apologized, looking at Briar. "I didn't...I didn't even realize people were still like that."

"You're white," Briar and Bonnie said together, exchanging a look.

"No offense, Matt. Just...be an ally, not a problem."

"You got it," Matt nodded, looking much more contemplative as he washed the car.

Briar's eyes connected with Stefan's across the lot as she started working on Benjamin's — the blonde kid —car.

'Okay?' He mouthed.

Briar nodded, heart feeling a bit lighter that he cared.

Fuck.

—

i love stef and briar <3 befan? stefair? stiar? idk come up with a ship name for them and one for her and bonnie. also, if i ever say anything that isn't accurate to indigenous peoples, PLEASE let me know and i'll correct it. i am going with the twilight lore and the fact that the Quileutes do call themselves "tribe" on their official website and history, but if that's offensive in some way let me know. and please donate to them <33