Lois hated having dirty dishes and cups in her room. It was pretty rare for Lois to even eat in her room, because she hated the idea of getting crumbs in her bed. 

She tried to wait until Elena's little gathering was over, but something about the bowl on her desk was making her uncomfortable and she knew she wouldn't be able to settle until the dish was in the sink or the dishwasher. 

Rolling her eyes at her own ridiculousness, Lois stood and grabbed the bowl before walking down the stairs as quietly as she could. 

She had heard the doorbell ring not long ago, so she knew there were more people in the house than when she went upstairs. 

She could almost feel the extra auras in the house, and she wondered whether that was the reason the dirty bowl in her room was upsetting her so much more than usual.

Lois slipped into the kitchen, quickly dropping the bowl into the sink with the plan of escaping back upstairs without being noticed. 

Luck, however, was not on her side. 

Elena appeared in the doorway, the dishes from her dinner gathered in her hands. 

That wasn't what scared Lois. 

What scared Lois was the fact that Damon the bloodsucking demon was standing behind her.

It was if the world around her suddenly started moving in slow motion, Lois could see Elena talking to her and talking to Damon but it felt as if she was underwater. 

Everything was muffled and her vision began to swim in front of her. 

It reminded her of when she was drowning, the terror she felt as she realised she was going to die after seeing her parents drown right in front of her. 

Elena was in front of her then, but when Lois didn't snap out of it, Elena gently placed her hands on her face. 

The immediate onslaught of images, sounds, colours and feelings was enough to make Lois gasp out as if she'd been electrocuted. 

She could see now that Damon's brother, Stefan, from the roof was also in her house. In fact, it seemed as if Elena and Stefan were dating. 

Her stomach was twisting with unease and waves of anxiety washed over her. 

"Lois, Lois," Elena repeated, forcing her head to make eye contact with her. "You're okay, you're safe, you're home."

Lois blinked, forcing herself to get it together. 

She refused to break down in front of this monster again. 

"I'm Damon Salvatore," the blue-eyed demon introduced. "You must be Lois, the littlest Gilbert."

Lois felt all words die on her lips, her tongue suddenly feeling like it was too big for her mouth. 

Damon analysed her for a moment, watching her having an inner battle with herself.

Elena interrupted quickly, "Sorry, she's not always like this. The last few months have been hard for her, for all of us."

Lois wanted to apologise to her sister, she really did, but she couldn't look away from Damon who was standing in her kitchen, in her home. 

"You seem stressed, little Gilbert," Damon cooed with mock concern. He leant down to catch her eyes with his, "Perhaps you should have a nice bath."

It was happening again, his words were in her head, twisting and tangling with her own thoughts and will. She tried to fight against it, but she was so tired and it hurt to do so.

"Oh, um, Lois doesn't--" Elena began, but was interrupted by Lois' monotonous voice, "I'll have a nice bath."

Lois hoped someone noticed how hard her hands shook as her body moved towards the stairs without her permission. It was as if she was on autopilot, and she couldn't regain control.

Lois felt tears begin to well in her eyes as she entered the shared bathroom, moving over to the large bath and turning the taps onto full. 

Bubbles erupted in the bottom of the bathtub from the force of the water and steam quickly filled the room, obscuring Lois' view of herself in the bathroom mirrors. 

The bathtub filled quickly due to the force of the water, and Lois wanted to scream out as she felt herself undress.

The water was burning her delicate skin as she stepped into the bath, her heart pounding erratically as she lowered herself into the water against her will.

Her mind was playing cruel tricks on her as she was forced from the present into the past to the night of the accident and then back again. She wanted to scream out in protest, but there was some kind of resistance preventing her to do so.

Suddenly, Lois slipped below the water. The shock of the heat against her skin and the sudden lack of air had her mouth opening instinctively, just as it had when her parent's car submerged.

She screamed.

She wanted to thrash and pull herself out of the water but she couldn't.

Water filled her nose and mouth and lungs and Lois felt an eerie sense of deja vu.

However, instead of the murky darkness Lois expected, there was a loud crash as the bathroom door swung open and forcefully hit the wall beside it.

Unknown hands were in the water and pulling her up and out of the tub like she weighed nothing more than a rag doll.

She spluttered and coughed as she tried to pull in as much air as she could.

Someone's face was in front of her, talking, but Lois' couldn't make out what was being said.

There were other people behind them, crowded in the entrance of the doorway and Lois felt an overwhelming urge to reassure them,

"I'm okay, I slipped." She gasped, still choking on water left in her lungs.

Elena lurched forwards towards her baby sister and wrapped her in a large towel

Lois caught the gaze of Damon Salvatore as he watched from the doorway. Elena immediately slammed the door shut, blocking her gaze.

It was only Elena, Lois and the other person in the bathroom then.

It was Stefan, Lois realised.

She wanted to pull away but she was so scared and so tired, all her will to fight and survive had left her body.

But Elena was there, Elena would protected her, just like she always did. 

"I'm okay, I slipped." Lois repeated, whether it was for her own benefit or for those in the room she wasn't sure. 

It was quiet in the bathroom for a long while. 

Stefan had passed Lois into Elena's arms, and Lois couldn't find it in her to move away from the onslaught she felt due to the contact.

The three of them sat in silence for a long time, no one disturbed them.

It was only them in the bathroom, them and the spirit of the dead boy who was standing in the corner.

_____

AURA COLOUR CHART

red: energy, strength, anger, lust, passion, ego

orange: self control, ambition, thoughtfulness, courage

yellow: optimistic, happy, intellectual, naive

light green: peaceful, healing, compassion

dark green: deceitful, jealousy, moody

light blue: fear, indecisive, sensitive, skepticism

dark blue: spiritual, loyal, creative, kind

violet: wisdom, intuition, highly spiritual

indigo: benevolence, highly intuitive, seeker

pink: love, sincerity, friendship

grey: depression, sadness, exhaustion, low energy, skepticism

brown: greed, self-involvement, opinionated

black: lacking energy, illness, imminent death

white: perfect balance

______

a/n: new character ;)