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CHAPTER NINE
lies, lies, and more lies
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( 162 candles )

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Tuesday, November 1, 2009

Harper's POV.

Ugh. I can't believe my mother is making me go to Caroline's party. It's a school night for goodness sakes, and we literally just had the Halloween party yesterday.

I swear this town has too many parties. It's so annoying.

My mother drives up to the front entrance of the Grill, with me in the back seat. I rarely ever sit in the front passenger's seat. I don't know why; I'm just more comfortable with sitting in the back. I guess it's because it's much more private back here where I can avoid my mother's scrutinizing gaze.

Once the car comes to a complete stop, she looks back at me. "I'll come pick you up at around eight-thirty. Alright, dear?"

"Alright," I say.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and prepare to get out when she stops me. "And remember. You need to make eye contact when you talk to people, dear."

It takes everything in my power not to roll my eyes.

"Okay," I answer weakly, not at all sure why she had to say that. Of course I know I need to make eye contact when I talk to people. That's common sense. I mean, sure, maybe I do need to work on my social skills, but that doesn't mean she has to constantly remind me of obvious things like making stupid eye contact.

"Bye," I tell her before getting out of the car and shutting the door behind me. Slowly, I make my way up to the front entrance of the Grill, taking my sweet time. I'm in no rush to socialize at the moment, and I didn't even want to come to this party in the first place.

So I already know I'm going to have a bad time.

I open the front door and step inside. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright lights of the Grill as opposed to the darkness outside. But once my vision clears up, I'm met with a party rush of loud music, dancing teenagers, and underage drinking.

My first instinct is to find an anchor person so I don't look like an idiot who just walked into the wrong place. However, when I don't see anyone I know immediately, I walk further into the Grill.

That's when I spot the last person I expected to be here . . . Damon Salvatore. I can only see his side-profile, but I easily recognize that sharp jawline and dark hair of his.

Without even having to think about it, my legs move on their own, away from him. The need to find someone I know has grown more urgent. I know that the chances of Damon actually coming to talk to me are low, but that doesn't change the fact that he has talked to me in the past. And now that I know what type of person he is, I don't think I could handle it if he were to talk to me again. What would I even say? It would be so uncomfortable.

Within a matter of seconds and much to my relief, I spot Bonnie sitting at a table. She's with two other girls from school, Dana and Kirsten. And even though on any other day, I would prefer not to disrupt Bonnie's conversation with two other girls from school who I don't really know, I would rather embarrass myself in front of them than run the risk of having to talk to Damon.

I slide into the empty next to Bonnie nonchalantly. Damon being here may have put me on edge, but I'm not going to allow my nerves to completely control me. I know how to remain calm under pressure. I've been doing it my whole life.

"Hi." I wave quickly to Dana and Kirsten across the table, sending them a sweet smile. I hate to admit it, but I could care less about them. I really just want to talk to Bonnie right now, and them being here is an inconvenience. The friendly greeting was simply just a polite formality to protect my image, so they don't think I'm a rude person or anything.

Not even waiting for them to greet me back, I turn my head to the left towards Bonnie. I give her a serious look. "Did you know Damon was here?" I hiss just loud enough for her to hear.

Bonnie looks over my shoulder, searching for Damon with her eyes. She lets out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm not happy about it either."

"What is he doing here? Does Caroline know he's here?" I inquire.

"She does. She says she's over what happened between them, and she forgave him."

I scowl. "That's ridiculous. You can't just forgive someone for something like that. He literally . . ." I lower my voice so Dana and Kirsten can't hear. "Bit her."

"I know," Bonnie agrees. "I don't like him either. He gives me a bad feeling, but Caroline claims he's been getting some help for his . . ." It's her turn to lower her voice. "Issue."

"Yeah, like that's true." I roll my eyes.

I can't believe Caroline let Damon come to her party. After everything that happened, she's still being nice to him. It just doesn't make any sense.

"Bonnie!"

Speak of the devil, well, more like the ditzy, gullible angel.

Caroline comes up to our table. "I've been looking for you," she says, taking Bonnie's hands and pulling her up from her seat. "I am totally sorry to do this." She leads Bonnie away from the table to speak more privately.

I get up from my seat to follow them. I don't appreciate it when my friends leave me out of conversations. Also, I really just didn't feel like being alone at a table with two girls from school who I barely talk to.

"I need my crystal back," Caroline tells Bonnie.

"Why? You said you hated it," Bonnie says confusedly.

Caroline opens her mouth to protest but seems at a loss for words. "The . . ." she hesitates, "then I saw it on you, and I realized how great it is, and I've got like three outfits I can coordinate it with, so —"

"I can't give it back to you," Bonnie cuts her off, shaking her head.

A tension is growing between my friends, and I don't like it. I don't see what's so big a deal about that necklace though. It's just a piece of jewelry that Caroline got from Damon. If anything, she should want nothing to do with something that could remind her of her time with him. But then again, she did invite him to this party so maybe she really just doesn't care.

"Okay," Caroline says to Bonnie, her tone stiffening. "Uh, well, I didn't wanna have to tell you this, but I'm your friend."

Bonnie and I give Caroline pointed looks, confused as to what she's about to say.

"When you wear it," she says, "it makes you look fat."

"Caroline," I hiss, breaking my silence. That was just too far, even for her.

Finally acknowledging my presence, Caroline snaps her head towards me. "What? It's true."

Her words hit a nerve. What is wrong with her? First, she invites her deranged ex to this party, and now she's being rude to Bonnie over some stupid necklace he gave her? She just needs to stop. Seriously, this is ridiculous.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie speaks up loudly to get Caroline's attention back on her. "Caroline, I can't."

"Well," Caroline begins slowly, "what do you mean that you 'can't'? Bonnie, it's mine."

"I thought you said it was Damon's," Bonnie reminds her.

"Well, it is—"

"So he's the one who really wants it back," Bonnie deduces.

"Is that why he's here?" I question Caroline. I'm really trying to put the pieces together on what's going on here, but I feel like I'm just coming up with more questions than answers.

Caroline quickly shakes her head. "No, no," she denies us both. "Maybe . . ." she slips out after a beat of silence. "Just . . ."

Then Caroline does the last thing I expected her to. She literally reaches out and tries to tear the necklace right off of Bonnie's neck. "Ow!" she winces, instantly retracting her hand. "Are you wearing polyester?" she questions in an accusing voice as if Bonnie was the one who just did something wrong and not her.

Angrily, Bonnie says, "You were really gonna pull it from my neck? What the hell is wrong with you?" With hurt written all over her face, Bonnie walks away.

Caroline doesn't go after her. She remains in place and lets out a huff of air, clearly frustrated.

I want to say something to Caroline, but I don't know what to say. I don't like it when my friends get into fights because it messes everything up. I could have had a somewhat decent time at this party if Bonnie and Caroline weren't fighting with each other. We could have all had a good time together (well, as good as a party on a school night can get that is).

Without another word, Caroline walks away in the opposite direction that Bonnie went.

Great. First Elena doesn't want to come to the party because she and Stefan broke up, and now Bonnie and Caroline are fighting with each other, which is only going to put a damper on this already lame party

Yeah, mom, this party was a great idea. Seriously, I could be home reading or looking up theories for the upcoming movie Twilight: New Moon right now. Thanks a lot.

Having no idea where Bonnie or Caroline went and not seeing anyone else I feel comfortable talking to, I stall for time by going up to the bar to get a drink. Not an alcoholic drink obviously, just some nonalcoholic boba tea.

"Thank you," I tell the bartender sweetly as she sets down in front of me a medium-sized pomegranate and blueberry boba tea. I bring the straw to my lips and start to sip it down. As I sip, my eyes drift absentmindedly from left to right.

To my right, I recognize the lean, flat-muscled, athletic build of Stefan Salvatore. My eyes widen when I realize what he's doing. He's dancing with a blond girl I've never seen before.

Wow, he moved on from Elena that quickly? That's messed up. I'm honestly disappointed. He may have been the better Salvatore brother, but I guess that didn't make him perfect either. You really never know a person, do you?

I tear my gaze away from Stefan and the blond girl before I can get caught staring. I take a couple more sips of my tea then look to my left. Relief travels through me at the sight of Caroline and Bonnie talking. Maybe they've made up?

I get out of my seat, and with my drink in hand, I start to make my way over to them. However, I stop in my tracks when I hear Bonnie say, "You know that's not true. Don't let him treat you like that."

Oh great, they're still arguing about that.

Caroline crosses her arms over her chest. "Yeah, as opposed to how my best friend treats me," she counters solemnly. She scoffs, and with a shake of her head, Caroline marches away.

Bonnie goes for the front entrance of the Grill and leaves out the door. I guess she's had enough, and I can't blame her for it. Luckily for her, she has a car and can actually drive, unlike me, who's stuck here till my mother comes to pick me up.

I guess this fight between them is going to go on for longer than I thought. I'm used to them getting into small arguments every now and then that only last a day, but it's the long-term fights that I really hate the most, especially because I usually end up having to take sides at some point. Which only adds more fuel to the fire.

I wish Elena were here. She would know what to do. She always does. It's funny though. It's not like I don't have anything to say to get my friends to stop fighting. It's just that I'm afraid that if I do speak my mind, I'll accidentally say something wrong, and they'll get mad at me instead of agreeing with me. I'm such a people pleaser sometimes, and I hate it.

I go back to the bar and sit down in the bar stool I had been sitting in earlier. I take out my phone from my pocket and check the time. 7:30

Oh, how lovely. I still have an hour left before my mother is coming to pick me up. What am I supposed to do until then? Caroline is in a bad mood and has gone who knows where, and Bonnie has already left the party. I literally have no friends to hang out with anymore.

Worst. Party. Ever.

"Hey," someone greets from behind me. Surprised, I watch as Elena settles herself down in the empty bar stool beside me.

"Hi," I say. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I didn't know till now either actually." She tilts her head to the side. "Where are Bonnie and Caroline?"

"Caroline's around, but Bonnie just left. You just missed her." I pause before continuing. "They're fighting you know."

Elena furrows her brow. "Over what?"

"Some stupid necklace Damon gave Caroline. I don't know what's so special about it. All I know is that Bonnie has it and Caroline wants it back."

Elena averts her gaze, her fingers brushing against old cracks in the wood of the bar counter. "I'll have to talk to them about it," she says.

A silence settles itself between us, and then I remember what I saw earlier. I really don't want to bring it up, but Elena has a right to know. "Stefan is here you know."

She flickers her eyes up to meet mine, but before she gets the chance to say anything, I quickly continue, "But I have to warn you, I saw him with someone else, some girl I've never seen before."

Much to my surprise, Elena grins. "No, it's okay. She's just an old friend of Stefan's, nothing," she shakes her head, "romantic at all."

"Oh. Wow." I place a palm up to my forehead in humiliation. "That's embarrassing."

Elena laughs. "No, you're good. Trust me. My reaction when I first saw her was way worse." She shakes her head to herself, probably thinking back to that moment.

So Stefan didn't rebound quickly from Elena after all. I should have given him the benefit of the doubt from the get-go.

"Her name is Lexi, and she's in town because it's Stefan's birthday," Elena explains.

"It's Stefan's birthday?" I pipe up.

"Yeah." She nods. "I didn't even know till about an hour ago. It's . . . kinda why I came."

My attention gets pulled away from Elena at the sight of Lexi coming up behind her. It's like she knew we were talking about her or something.

"Ah, the famous Elena," Lexi says to get my brunette cousin's attention.

Elena turns away from me to face Lexi. "Towel girl," she greets, sounding surprised that Stefan's blond friend is talking to her.

I have no idea why Elena just called Lexi "towel girl," but I suspect it has something to do with how the two of them met.

Lexi shrugs, brushing the nickname off. "I've been called worse," she decides before setting down a shot glass in front of Elena. "Here," she offers.

Lexi flashes me a friendly smile before sitting down in the empty bar stool on the other side of Elena.

I take that as my cue to leave.

I head for the restrooms, the only place I can think of to go at the moment. As I take care of my business in there, I make a mental note to get something for Stefan for his birthday. I know him and Elena just broke up, but I still want to get him something. He's always been sweet to me throughout the time I've known him. Okay, maybe I do feel the need to get him something because I still harbor some feelings for him. I'll just admit it, but hey, you can't blame me, right?

I come out of the restroom only to find Elena no longer in her seat at the bar and Lexi gone as well.

As I walk back to my seat wondering where in the world they went, I spot Elena at a pool table with Stefan. I'm not surprised that she left me for him at all. I mean, she did admit to me that's pretty much the only reason she came to this party, to see Stefan since it's his birthday today.

I have a feeling this is how it's going to be from now on. Even though Elena and Stefan are broken up, she still likes him a lot. I know that for a fact. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave it another go someday in the future.

I sit back down in my bar stool which luckily hasn't been taken yet since I used my empty glass of boba tea to save my seat while I went to the restroom. I pull out my phone to check the time. However, the first thing I see is that I got a text from my mother. My phone is on silent, so I wasn't able to be alerted when it first came through.

MAMA: I'm here. Parked out front.

Relief soothes my stomach at this news. It's not even eight-thirty yet, and she's here to pick me up early. Thank God!

Without wasting another second, I text her "ok" back and rush out the front door of the Grill. Maybe, if I hurry, I'll have about an hour of free time before I have to go to bed.

I expected it to be easy to reach my mother's car, but for a moment, I'm blinded by the bright red and blue headlights of four police cruisers to my left. I wonder what's going on and if my dad is with them. Discreetly, I try to ignore them as I cross the street to my mother's car. I open the backseat door, slide in, and shut the door in one swift movement.

"I wonder what's going on," I say as I buckle in my seat belt, referring to the situation with the police officers outside. I don't mention anything about my mother coming early to pick me up. Knowing her, she'll probably make a mental note so that she won't let it happen again, which is something I would not be happy about. I love it when she accidentally comes early to pick me up from something than she intended to.

"I have no idea," my mother responds, her eyes watching the scene behind us through the rear view mirror.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

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a/n:

I love how almost everyone in this chapter is just blatantly lying to Harper. Bonnie hasn't told Harper that she's a witch yet nor the reason why she actually needs the necklace. Caroline isn't being straightforward to her about what's going on between her and Damon. Elena is keeping too many secrets to count, including that Vicki is dead, Stefan and Damon are vampires, and Lexi is a vampire too. Not to mention, even Harper's mom is lying to her. She didn't just pick her up early on accident. She purposely picked her up early to keep Harper out of harm's way while the police captured the vampire culprit (Lexi, if you remember).

-- roxy

( word count: 3.3k )