CHAPTER II ―

MATURE GUYS!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 besides the quiet click of Brooke's heels on the cement sidewalks as Elena and Brooke walked together. This was something that Elena had to do, a routine of sorts and Brooke was okay with that. Everyone needed a coping mechanism and this just happened to be Elena's, no matter how weird it was to be sitting in the graveyard in the middle of the day. Frankly, Brooke knew that Elena was still stuck on the car crash, and she also knew that the only way that Elena was going to get through this was to pull herself out of it.

        Elena took a deep breath as she opened the rusty door to the cemetery, a loud creeeek going throughout the air and sending a shiver down her spine. She hated having sensitive ears. Watching as Elena maneuvered her way through the cemetery, Brooke tugged slowly behind her, staring at her cousin that had glazed over eyes as she tried to keep the tears at bay. Elena eyed the other tombs that were placed above the grass, which had coffins underneath it, copses held inside that were probably now skeletons that had previously been alive and loved.

Like Elena's parents.

Setting her bag down, Elena plucked her diary out of her bag with a pen, opening up to a blank page as she sat in front of her parents gravestones, slowly beginning to write in her neat cursive handwriting that she had been graced from her mother. Brooke, on the other hand, sat next to Elena and pulled out her sketch book, beginning to draw anything that came to her mind.

Several minutes passed before Elena spoke up, finishing her thoughts on her paper. "Dear diary," she began. "I made it through the day. I must have said, "I'm fine, thanks," at least thirty-seven times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks, "How are you?" They really don't want an answer."

Looking at her drawing, Brooke frowned. It seemed to be an antique ring of some sorts, a blue stone was elegantly placed in the middle of it and an 'S' was etched in the center. Looking up at her cousin, she gave her a sad smile. "It'll get easier, El," Brooke said, encouragingly. "Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or a year from now... but one day, you're going to look in the mirror and smile and suddenly, it won't hurt as much as it does now."

Elena looked at her cousin with tears in her eyes. "You think?" she questioned, her voice small and sounded like she was almost scared to ask. Brooke nodded.

"I know so."

Wiping the stray tear that fell down her cheek, Elena let out a soft, yet sad, chuckle and nodded. Brooke leaned over and laid her head on the taller girl's shoulder. "And I'm going to be here every step of the way, even if it takes a lifetime."

A sad smile on her pretty features, Elena nodded. "Thank you,"she whispered.

he green-eyed girl didn't say anything else, she just nodded. There wasn't anything else Brooke could say, the best thing Elena could do was face this on her own and heal, let go of the guilt and the grief and just let the happiness in. The most Brooke could do was the there for her, and like always, she would be.

A distinct caw sound broke the two girls out of their reverie, and Brooke's eyes narrowed at the crow perched on the top of her Aunt's tombstone... why did that crow seem so familiar?

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay," she muttered, nervous. "Hi, bird." The tanned girl frowned, "'Cause that's not creepy or anything."

Eyeing the crow wearily, Brooke's hand latched onto her cousin's arm. "Make it go away," she whispered, something was off about that bird and she could feel her heart racing a million miles an hour. What was so off-putting about the damn bird?

Elena let out a scoff. "Why me?"

"You're older."

Suddenly, a thick, misty fog crept its way through the cemetery, weaving through the gravestones and settling itself around the two teenage girls, adding to the already eerie atmosphere. And much like it did in Brooke's dream, the fog was almost overwhelming to the point you couldn't see.

"This is like some damn horror movie," Brooke muttered, clenching her jaw. "I am way too young to die."

Elena rolled her eyes, but frowned as she felt the crows eyes on her and her cousin. "Shoo!" She shouted, slapping her hand at it. "Go away!" She demanded again, seeing the bird just sit there and cock it's head at her.

Brooke watched as the fog wrapped around her ankles and she stood up, quickly and dragged on Elena's arm. "Can we please get out of here?" She snapped. This felt like a freaking Hitchcock film and Brooke was not one to sit through a horror movie. "I have a really bad feeling, El. This is like an unofficial horror movie. Can we please just go?"

Her cousin nodded, leaning down and grabbing her bag. "Yeah." And the two took off sprinting through the cemetery, scared for their lives. It was all too creepy to stay there and end up as skin suits or something! As the two ran, Brooke tripped over a stick that caused her to go tumbling down the hill, finding herself crashing at the very bottom with a groan.

"Brooke!" Elena shouted, grabbing her cousin's bag that she had dropped on the way down, rushing to Brooke.

"Are you okay?" Came a concerned voice, a hand was thrusted in front of her, and for the second time that day, Brooke had managed to embarrass herself in front of the new guy as she grabbed his hand and he hauled her up like she weighed nothing.

By the time Elena had reached the bottom of the hill, she frowned seeing her cousin being helped up by the new guy, also known as Stefan Salvatore. "Were you following us?" Elena questioned with a hiss before her cousin could say a word, latching onto Brooke's arm - ready to bolt at any minute.

"No," he responded immediately, only to give a sheepish smile and confession moments later. "Actually, yes, I saw you fall."

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "And who are you, exactly?" She retorted, her inner-bitch coming out. She really couldn't help it, Brooke had put this wall up for such a long time that it was just natural. "Are you some creepy pervert who preys on young girls?"

Elena's eyes widened at her cousin's word. "Brooklyn!" She hissed, glaring at her cousin. There was no reason to be so shallow.

The fawn-haired boy cleared his throat. "I was visiting," he replied. "I have family here."

Brooke's eyes closed for a moment as she pinched the bridge of her nose, embarrassed, letting to a chuckle. "Oh, uh, wow. I am so sorry," she apologized, nervously running a hand through her long strawberry locks. "You just came out of nowhere and that was incredibly hostile of me..." but Brooke still felt off about something, she could've sworn she'd seen a figure standing behind one of the statues back in the graveyard.

"Plus, there was this crow. And the fog. It's making us... foggy. It was all very Hitchcock," Elena explained, smiling at the boy. The boy nodded, licking his lips.

"No worries," he brushed off with a kind glance.

Elena grinned, flashing her pearly white teeth. "I'm Elena," she introduced, kindly. She then gestured to her cousin, who stood there awkwardly. "And this is Brooke."

He smiled at the two. "I'm Stefan."

"I know," Brooke replied, quickly, cringing slightly at herself. "We have History together."

Stefan chuckled, nodding. "And English and Latin." Tilting his head, he reached over to brush something out of the green-eyed girl's hair, only to get a confused frown in response. "You, uh, had a leaf," he explained.

Brooke grinned, shyly. "Thanks," she replied, softly. The two stared at each other for a moment before something caught Brooke's gaze, noticing a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. She hummed, curiously, spotting an interesting and familiar ring on Stefan's finger. The same ring that she had drawn. "That's a nice ring," she spoke, raising a perfectly waxed eyebrow.

Stefan smiled, awkwardly. "Oh, thanks. It's, uh, a family heirloom." He lifted the ring to show, a large blue and tacky looking ring in Elena's opinion. "Kinda stuck with it." Brooke chuckled. And suddenly, Stefan's face became pinched as he noticed something, or well, smelled something. He frowned. "Are you hurt?"

The strawberry blonde furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "Uh, I don't think so," she muttered, but just to make sure, Brooke looked down to check herself over, only to gasp at the sight of her left knee having blood dripping down her leg, staining her gorgeous dress. She groaned. "Great, a perfectly good dress ruined. That is not pretty," she commented when she lifted her dress to mid-thigh to see the deep cut, hissing when Elena touched near it. "Don't touch it!" She hissed, rolling her eyes. "Gosh."

"You should take care of that." And when the two girls looked back up, Stefan was gone, leaving the two girls there utterly confused...

...

"So," Elena grinned at her cousin as she leaned against the door frame of Brooke's bedroom, they had just finished sterilizing Brooke's wound and now she was getting changed to go meet Caroline and Bonnie. "When are you going to admit it?"

Playing dumb, the strawberry blonde frowned. "Admit what?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow as she changed into a new outfit, trying to decide between a pants and a skirt. "Skirt or pants?" Brooke tried to change the subject, showing Elena the two choices.

"The pants with the blue bird sweater and tan booties," Elena said, grinning sarcastically at her cousin. "Don't think I'm going to let you get out of this, Brooklyn."

"Hmm," she cocked her head at Elena's choices, humming to herself. "I guess you do have somewhat of good taste." Grabbing her clothes, she quickly put on the sweater and jeans, grabbing the tan heeled booties from her closet and slipping them on. "And I'm not changing the subject when there's nothing to talk about."

Now sitting on her bed, Elena held the elephant that Brooklyn Sommers had cherished since she was six years old. Believe it or not, but Brooke had named her elephant "Lucille", who names a stuffed elephant? Shaking her head, Elena tsked her tongue. "You have the hots for the new guy!"

"And give me reason why you think so?" Brooke raised an eyebrow, looking at Elena through the reflection of her body-length mirror as she checked herself over.

"For starters, Brooke never stutters." Elena smirked, seeing a flush rise to her cousin's pale cheeks. "Not when she so confident. And you used your hostile defense, you only use that when you push people away. You also gave him the nod and not the-" Elena gave a sweet smile and a wink nod, "you gave him the-" a charming smirk overtook her features and she looked up and down, "I wanna hook up nod-"

And before Elena could go on anymore, Brooke cut her off. "Alright!" She shouted, her cheeks aflame. "I like him! I like Stefan! Good grief. You act like I have some school-girl crush, Elena." She pursed her lips. "You know I only like mature guys."

Elena scoffed. "Uh-huh, yeah. And Stefan isn't mature?" Brooke rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean." Elena sighed.

"Brooke," she began, standing up and walking over to her cousin, smiling down at her. "It's okay to open up and to like someone. It's not a bad thing at all. I can tell Stefan is a good guy and that he isn't going to hurt you." Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on the shorter girl's shoulders. "Give Stefan a chance, worst possibility you become a skin suit."

A loud laugh came from the strawberry blonde. "Real encouraging, El."

Elena shrugged, smirking. "I try."

...

"Did you live?" Jenna questioned her daughter when the two girls came into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow. "No reason to go to the hospital?"

Brooke gave a sarcastic smile. "Haha, very funny." Elena chuckled.

"She's a klutz," Elena explained simply, sitting on a stool at the island. "And we saw the hot new guy at the cemetery," she added, sending a teasing smile to her cousin. "He got all weirded out with the blood. I think he has some sort of fetish."

"He does not," Brooke said with a roll of her eyes. Pausing, she frowned, "And aren't you and Matt uh...?" Brooke smirked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Matt and I are exclusive, Brooke." Elena rolled her eyes. "And it's not like we're a "friends with benefits" type of thing like you used to be with Tyler."

Jenna's upper lip curled in disgust. "Okay, TMI," she spoke loudly, gesturing with her palms of her hands for her niece to stop talking. "The last thing I need to know about is both of your sex lives." The hazel-eyed woman scoffed. "Actually, scratch that," she added. "You know what? It is my business. You're both using protection, right? Because I have some condoms you can us-"

"Yes, I'm using protection!" Elena interrupted with a flush to her tanned cheeks, letting out a sigh. "God."

"Anyways, teen pregnancy was so last year," Brooke mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Jenna let out a chuckled, muttering, "Well, it's great to know where your priorities are."

"Don't worry," Brooke reassured her mom, rolling her eyes. "I broke it off once I heard he was hooking up with Vicki."

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Jeremy's Vicki?" She questioned, surprised.

The green-eyed girl nodded, sadly, and she couldn't stop her lips from curling downward in a frown.

Clearing her throat, Elena snatched her purse and car keys from the nearby table, announcing. "We're going to meet Bonnie and Caroline at the Grille."

Jenna sent the two girls an apologetic glance for interrupting, and smiled. "Okay, well, have fun!" But just as she was going to leave the room, she halted and turned around with a face of determination. "Wait. I got this," she spoke, mostly to herself. "Don't stay out late, it's a school night."

Brooke grinned at her mother, "Well done."

Jenna gave her daughter a thumbs up, spinning on her heel and heading into the living room.

After an amused glance at each other, Brooke and Elena began to head out, opening the front door to find themselves face-to-face with the one and only, Stefan Salvatore, who was standing on their front porch with a sheepish smile.

"Oh," Elena muttered, surprised.

"Sorry," Stefan apologized. "I was about to knock." He licked his lips and let out a sigh. "I actually wanted to apologize to you both for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was, uh, strange."

Brooke let out a small scoff. "Yeah, that's a but of an understatement," she replied, and her eyebrows drew together in confusion, sending him another suspicious glance. "How did you know where we live?"

Stefan chuckled softly, bouncing awkwardly on his heels. "It's a small town," he explained. "I asked the first person I saw."

Brooke pursed her lips, but nodded, accepting his explanation. It was true; Mystic Falls was a small town, and everyone knew everyone. Stefan glanced at Elena who gave him an encouraging smile before his attention went back to Brooke.

"How's your leg?" Stefan questioned, curiously.

  Brooke shook her head, waving off his concern. "Oh, it's fine," she replied. "Just a scratch. No big deal, really."

   Elena nodded. "It could've been a lot worse."

Stefan's lip quirked upward, shyly. "I uh, thought you two might like these back..." he pulled something out of his pocked, causing the porch lights to reveal to items in his hands: Elena's diary and Brooke's sketch book.

The strawberry-blonde frowned, figuring they must've left it at the cemetery, considering they were in a major rush to get out of there. "Oh," Elena muttered in surprise. "I guess the must've dropped them."

Smiling politely, Stefan handed the two items back to them, Brooke grabbing Elena's diary and her own sketch book, handing the latter to her cousin.

"Don't worry. I uh, didn't read or look through them," the sandy-blonde haired boy assured them.

"No?" Brooke pried, eyeing him skeptically. "Most people would've."

Stefan let out a laugh, before turning his attention to Elena. "I wouldn't want anyone to read mine."

"You keep a journal?" Elena questioned, intrigued.

"Memories are important."

Elena sighed, nodding. "Yeah, they are."

A couple seconds later, Brooke and her cousin headed inside to put their things away, leaving Stefan lingering at the door, eyeing the threshold. Seeing his wasn't moving, Brooke came back out and said, "You don't have to stand out there, you know..."

"No, I'm fine." He replied, noticing the purse and set of car keys in Brooke's hands, the dark-haired boy frowned. "I'm sorry. Were you two going somewhere?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, we're meeting a few friends." Elena nodded from besides her cousin, smiling as she caught Brooke gazing wistfully at Stefan.

"Do you want to come?" She offered, knowing Brooke would probably hate her, but thank her at the same time.

Stefan glanced at Elena and back to Brooke, nodding with a smile. "Yeah, I'd love to."

...

A little after the two girls and Stefan had left for the Grille, the front door of the Gilbert house opened, and Jeremy Gilbert entered the kitchen just in time to see his Aunt setting the table. "Great!" Jenna exclaimed, grinning. "You're just in time for dinner."

Jeremy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You actually cooked?" And didn't burn down the house, he added in his head, snickering slightly.

Jenna sent him a tense smile, rage swirling in her gaze eyes. "All of your favorites."

The brown-haired boy sat down, only to look down at his plate, startled. "What is this?" He swallowed, gazing down at the assortment of pills, pot, and other various drugs on the glass plate.

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows, feigning confusion and innocence. "What? I found the main course in your sock drawer," she said, simply, but her so-called "obliviousness" didn't last long and was soon replaced with rage. "The sides? Well, those are all courtesy of your dress shoes." She pointed to the bong, chuckling. "Yeah, that one? In between the mattresses." She sent him a disappointed look. "Oldest trick in the book, by the way," she added, turning her attention to the rolling papers place on the napkin. "Those? Found them in your DVD cases. We'll save the girl-on-girl porn you hid in your Hulk movie for another conversation."

"I can't believe you went through my room!" Jeremy snapped, outraged.

Jenna shrugged, continuing. "Technically, it's my room. Your parents left it to me, along with the responsibility of you."

Jeremy's eyes squinted, annoyed. "I guess that was their mistake, wasn't it?"

Jenna gritted her teeth, trying to keep her anger in check. The last thing she wanted was to snap at him and make him feel more cornered than he already was, so like Brooke had did earlier in the boy's bathroom at school, she tried a different approach. "Listen, alright?" She began, softly. "Four months ago, I was a single mom and raising my teenage daughter. Your jackass of an Uncle bailed the minute Brooklyn was born, only sending the occasional birthday card and his monthly child support. I could barely handle my Grad classes, Brooke, and keeping a plant alive. So, I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert at taking care of two grieving children, but the jig is up, Jeremy." The hazel-eyed woman let out a sigh, exhausted. "And I know how it can go one way or another for someone like you, so we're going to go by the textbook on this one."

Jeremy let out a bitter chuckled. "Yeah, and what's that?"

Sending him a grim smile, Jenna chuckled. "I'm glad you asked," she replied, dryly. "And here it is: you're not leaving this house for two weeks. Just school, and your ass is back home. Every damn day. Got that?"

Fed up, Jeremy shook his head, getting up from the table and stomping up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door as he retired there for the rest of the night, the slam shaking the house.

Covering her face with her hands, Jenna plopped down on one of the dinning room chairs, letting out a sigh of defeat. "I suck at this," she muttered to herself and looked up at the ceiling, praying. "What would you do, Mir?" Looking back at the plate, Jenna grabbed the marijuana on the kitchen table and gave it a quick sniff, leaning her head bag with a cringe at the smell. "Definitely over that phase."

...

A short drive in Brooke's Jeep, the trio entered the Grille, catching everyone's attention: Matt Donovan's gaze hardened, the slightly bothered look form Caroline, the beaming expression from Bonnie, and the irritated scoff from Tyler.

Seeing Matt get up from his seat, Brooke mumbled. "Beware the jealous boyfriend."

The blonde-haired boy approached the group of teenagers, sticking his hand out for Stefan to shake. "Hey, I'm Matt," he greeted, kindly, giving his signature "star quarterback" smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi," the green-eyed boy responded. "I'm Stefan."

Elena sent her boyfriend a warning smile. "Hey."

Matt didn't respond verbally, only nodding his head.

Uncomfortable with the weird tension that filled the air, Brooke cleared her throat. "I really hate to break this little... whatever this is, up," she began, internally cringing at her words. "But I'm starving and craving some cheese fries, and Elena needs to take care of her boyfriend." The strawberry-blonde explained, bluntly, as she sent a pointed look at the couple, giving Matt a suggestive look.

Matt chuckled. "I'll order if for you, Tigger," he smiled.

   The aforementioned girl beamed, leaving over and giving Matt a platonic kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Matty!" She replied. "You're the best." Looking at Stefan behind her, she smiled. "C'mon, Tiger, let's get you away from the couple."

  Stefan chuckled, nodding as he let Brooke grab his hand and lead him to a table, both sitting down and waiting for Caroline's impending interrogation.

"So," the blonde-haired girl began with a cheerful grin, raising a perfectly waxed eyebrow at Stefan. "You were born in Mystic Falls?"

He nodded. "Yeah, moved when I was still young."

Bonnie turned her attention towards Stefan. "Parents?" She questioned, curiously.

Stefan paused. "My parents passed away," he answered, solemnly.

At that moment, Elena sat down next to Brooke and the strawberry-blonde grabbed her hand from underneath the table, giving it a comforting squeeze. Elena sent her a smile in thanks, turning towards Stefan. "I'm sorry," she whispered, a look of understanding washing over her features. "Any siblings?" The dark-haired girl wondered.

"None that I talk to." Stefan responded, vaguely.

"I, uh, live with my Uncle." Stefan said, sending everyone a smile, although his gaze was mostly fixed on Brooke.
Irritated at the lack of attention towards her, Caroline directed the conversation back to herself. "So, Stefan," she chirped, sending him a flirtatious grin. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

Taking note of his confused expression, Bonnie explained. "It's a back to school thing at the Falls."

Stefan nodded in understanding, turning towards Brooke. "Are you going?"

        Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise, before nodding with a confident smile. "Of course I am."

        When the two locked eyes, Brooke's confident smile changed to a shy smile as she pushed back a tendril of hair behind her ear, leaving Elena satisfied with how things were going. Her plan was going well, and that was all she wanted. Plus, her and Matt were doing good and things were beginning to make their way back to normality. And both Elena and Brooke vowed that they were going to enjoy it while it lasted.

─ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧  ─