CHAPTER VII ―

ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANY PLACE!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐋𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐋𝐘, Brooke's eyes narrowed on their every movement. "This is the first game of the year, girls," the strawberry blonde pursed her lips. "I want this routine perfect." Crossing her arms, Brooke sighed. "Elena, up front, Katelyn in the back. You're a second and a half off on every move."

"Remind me to never try out for the cheer leading team."

Turning around, Brooke's tense expression left as her eyes landed on a grinning Stefan in his jersey. "Look at you," she teased, walking towards him. "you look hot in your jersey."

Stefan smirked, looking down at her. "I guess we're a perfect pair, huh? I'm on the football team and you're my hot cheerleader girlfriend." Brooke chuckled, rolling her eyes. Stefan laughed. "What? Would you like me to say it more romantically?"

"Very funny, but I'm glad you joined the team. A lot of the good players were seniors and as you know, they graduated. So, our team can use all the help they can get."

Smiling, Stefan nodded. "Hmm, I'm glad you convinced me." Leaning in, Stefan's smile widened. "Although, I think I could use a good luck kiss, hmm? Y'know, for good luck?"

Brooke laughed, but nodded and pecked Stefan on the lips. "There, you now have good luck." Stefan chuckled, smiling.

"I got you something." Brooke frowned.

"You didn't need to, Stefan," she shook her head, but was cut off before she could protest any further.

A beautiful silver bracelet with a small heart charm that had a gorgeous pink diamond in the middle of the heart. "It... it was my little sister's. She would've liked you to have it." Brooke looked at with adoring eyes, before she looked back into Stefan's intense eyes. "It would mean a lot to me. I've never given it to anyone else."

"Stefan, I can't. It's too much. This was your sisters." Stefan shook his head, grabbing Brooke's dainty wrist and clasping it onto it. The silver bracelet fit perfectly. She needed to wear it for her own protection, but she didn't need to know that.

"I want you to have it." Brooke looked down at the bracelet and laced her fingers with Stefan's, leaning up and kissing him. "Thank you, I'll take care of it." Stefan smiled, pushing back a curl out of her face.

"I know you will."

...

        "Wait, wait, wait. Wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!" Brooke and the entire crowd booed." Coach grinned. "But that is about to change." The entire crowd cheered. "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offense, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"

        Everyone looked over to Stefan, who had Brooke standing next to him and some of his teammates were hitting his shoulders in excitement. Brooke smiled at him, entangling their fingers together as they stood there for the rally. Tyler, on the other side of the crowd, glared at Stefan and to top it off, his ex-girlfriend was on his arm. His blood boiled as he scoffed and walked off.

        "That have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you..." Coach Tanner smirked. "Your Timberwolves are hungry!" The entire crowd shouted and cheered, howling here and there.

        Walking with Stefan and chatting about tonight's game, Brooke paused and frowned at the gathering crowd. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Was all she could hear being cheered.

        "What the hell?" She cursed, rushing over with Stefan in tow. "Jeremy!" Brooke exclaimed in shock as Tyler punches her cousin again. "Tyler! Tyler, stop it!" She shouted, pushing forward, only to be pulled back by Stefan as he launched forward.

        "Hey, he's down! Enough!" Stefan exclaimed, grabbing Tyler's wrist from punching Jeremy again. "Stop." Angered, Tyler launched forward and punched Stefan, swallowing with eyes wide when he realized it didn't even affect Stefan at all.

        "Jeremy, no!" Was all that anyone heard as the youngest Gilbert launched forward with a broken beer bottle, slashing out at Tyler, only to hit Stefan's hand. Brooke gasped as she ripped the glass out of Jeremy's hand.

"What the hell, Jeremy?!" Brooke exclaimed, seeing Jeremy's head bleeding. "Put your head up, it's bleeding." As she began to check Jeremy over, he snapped.

"I'm fine!" Brooke's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, you smell fine."

        "Just stop, okay? I did this for you and Vicki. God, I'm going home." Jeremy said, quieter this time as he shook his head, walking away. Brooke sighed, watching her cousin walk off. His pride was probably hurt enough.

        Turning around, Brooke's eyes widened. "Your hand! Is it deep? How bad is it?!" Grabbing Stefan's hand, she frowned. The cut was completely gone. "Wh-What? I saw it, it was..." Stefan swallowed.

        "He missed," Stefan lied. "See? It's not even my blood. I'm fine."

        Brooke's frown deepened. "Are you sure?" Stefan nodded, smiling gently to reassure her. Pecking her lips, Stefan gestured to the football field.

        "I gotta go, it's almost kickoff, but I'll see you out there, okay?" Brooke nodded, still doubtful about Stefan's hand as she walked off in the opposite direction to gather the girls.

...

        "Alright, it's almost game time!" Brooke shouted to her team, frowning when she noticed no Elena. "I want perfection. Let's run it again, one last time!" Watching the girls get into formation, Brooke did herself too. "5, 6, 7, 8!" As they went through their routine, Brooke grinned as they ended it. "Now, let's do this on the field!"

        Caroline jogged up to Brooke. "Can you run to my car and grab my water bottle? I have to run and grab towels from the locker room real quick." Nodding, Brooke began to walk to the car lot, easily finding Caroline's car.

        "I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now...You want to kiss me." Frowning, Brooke looked past Caroline's car to see Damon pinning Elena up against Jenna's car. Her eyes widened when she sees Elena slap him.

        "What the hell? I have a boyfriend, thank you very much. I don't know what game you're playing here with Stefan, but leave me and Brooke out of it. And I don't know what's happened in the past, but I am not Katherine and neither is Brooke." Scoffing, Elena shut the car door and marched off.

        Brooke frowned to herself. What the hell was Damon trying to do? Unlocking Caroline's car, Brooke grabbed the pink water bottle and gasped to find Damon right behind her. "Oh, my God." She gasped, momentarily frightened. "You." Damon smirked.

"Me." Brooke swallowed.

"You."

"Me." Damon's smirk widened.

Eyes narrowed, Brooke shut Caroline's car door. "You don't scare me, Damon. I put up with you for Stefan's sake." Although, it seemed Damon wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying as he grabbed her wrist, harshly. That was going to leave a bruise. Brooke winced.

"Where did you get this?" Damon demanded, eyes narrowed. "Where?!"

Brooke flinched at his harshness. "S-Stefan gave it to me." Damon's jaw clenched as he glared at her, dropping her hand, harshly. And before she could say anymore, Damon stomped off, leaving a slightly scared and worried Brooke behind.

...

"Nice trick with Elena and Brooke," Damon bitterly chuckled. "Let me guess...vervain in the necklace and bracelet? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?"

"Does it matter?" Stefan glared at Damon.

"Guess I could just seduce Elena the old-fashioned way," Damon smirked. "Or I could just...eat Brooke?" Stefan took a step forward to Damon with a smirk of his own.

"No. You're not gonna hurt either of them, Damon."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for Elena," Stefan said. "I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be..."

"Who's pretending?"

Stefan took another step forward. "Then kill me." He challenged.

"Well, I'm... I'm tempted." It was a lie. Both of them knew that much.

"No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Katherine is dead. And you hate me because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity." Stefan knew he was beginning to get to Damon.

"Salvatore!" It was Coach Tanner. "What the hell? We have a game to play!"

"If that's my humanity... then what's this?"

And before Stefan could react, Damon was already on Coach Tanner and ripped his throat out, savagely drinking his blood. The blood reached Stefan and it took everything he could not to latch on himself... in moments, Damon pulled back with blood dripping from his mouth, fangs illuminating in the night.

"Anyone, anytime, any-" a sudden piercing scream echoed throughout the parking lot, piercing the vampire's ears and the two went down to the ground, holding their heads in pain as their ears began to bleed. The scream ended as fast as it started and the Salvatore brother's picked their heads up, wincing lightly as they looked around for the source.

...

On the other side of the parking lot, a teenage girl lay passed out, strawberry blonde hair sprawled out with a pink water bottle next to her as a few other teenagers came rushing up. "Someone get a paramedic! It's Brooke Sommers!"