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CHAPTER NINETEEN
the founders' day kick-off party
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( under control )

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Friday, January 29, 2010

Harper's POV.

*Mystic Falls High School*

"Uncle John is back?" I ask Elena.

She leans against the locker beside Matt's before answering. "He said his trip is open-ended."

"And he's staying at your house?"

"Yes." She sighs. "Lucky us."

"Hahah, sucker." I grin.

Last time Uncle John came to visit was for Aunt Miranda and Uncle Grayson's funeral. He stayed at my house that time. Both my dad and I got annoyed with him after one week and were ready for him to leave. However, my mother insisted that he stay for a few more days since she never got to see him very much. My mother loves her brother to a ridiculous extent.

"Uncle John," Matt joins the conversation. "I never really liked that guy."

Elena chuckles. "Does anyone?"

"I'm here for moral support if you guys need me," Matt offers good-naturedly.

"Thanks," Elena says. "But we'll be fine. You've been through enough lately."

"Yeah, we can handle Uncle John," I add. "Don't worry about it."

Matt smiles at us. "Thank you, guys, by the way, for just . . . for everything you did at Vicki's funeral and her memorial. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh, it's fine," I say.

"Of course, Matt," Elena says.

There's a short pause in our conversation until Elena changes the subject. "So is Caroline still baking for you guys around the clock?" she asks him.

"She finally went to her dad's which is a good thing because my mom was gonna strangle her if she dropped off more lasagna." Matt smiles as he shuts his locker.

I laugh, and Elena lets out an "oh" before she grins.

The three of us walk down the hall together. 

3rd Person POV.

*Founders' Council Meeting*

*The Founders' Hall*

Jack and Sarah Lacy along with the other council members listen to Sheriff Forbes as she gives out the latest report.

"The coroner's office has officially ruled Vicki Donovan's death a drug overdose," she explains. "Her family has been notified. The truth will stay in this room and we can put this behind us."

"Thank you, Sheriff," Mayor Lockwood dismisses. He steps into her place at the front, and she rejoins the crowd.

Much to Jack's disappointment, Liz does not go to stand by him. She instead goes to stand by Damon who had just shown up to the meeting. Not to say that Jack was jealous, but he did not like Liz's growing attachment to the suave young Salvatore.

"And on to a more pressing issue," Mayor Lockwood announces. "John Gilbert has asked to say a few words."

John steps forward and shakes the mayor's hand.

"Welcome back, John, it's good to see you," says the mayor.

"Thank you, Mayor," John greets formally in return.

"Yeah," Mayor Lockwood says, moving away from John to give him the room.

"Hello, everyone, it's wonderful to see you," John begins. "I wish it were under better circumstances. As a founding family member, I find it's my duty to report some very distressing news."

While John is talking, Jack hears Damon whisper something to Liz. The two of them speaking discreetly to each other bothers Jack more than he would like to admit.

At the front, John continues to speak. "A hospital blood bank in the neighboring county of Amherst has reported several break-ins over the past two weeks. Seven hunters, four campers, and two state employees have been reported missing as well. All of this within a seventy-five mile radius of Mystic Falls."

Before John can say more, Mayor Lockwood raises a hand to interrupt him. "O-okay, okay, no need to get alarmed right at this moment," he assures the council in a raised voice.

Ignoring the mayor, John shakes his head. "You think all of your problems are over, but I'm here to tell you, nothing's been solved," he says seriously.

Jack knows that John Gilbert has always been one for the dramatics, but in an issue such as this that could affect his daughter's safety, he can't afford to take any risks.

Harper's POV.

*Alaric's Classroom After School*

Alaric takes a seat on the edge of his desk. "I made a copy of a paper Jeremy wrote for me," he informs Elena. "I think you should take a look at it."

I hand Elena Jeremy's paper. I already know what it's about. Jeremy wrote a paper about the history of supposed vampire activity in Mystic Falls. As far as we know, he has no idea vampires are real, but the fact that he wrote this paper is a little too good to be true for someone who isn't supposed to have an inkling that vampires exist.

I honestly never gave much thought to the idea of Jeremy knowing and being aware about vampires. So far, everyone who's been let in on the secret — me, Elena, and Bonnie — has been in a lot of danger because of what we know. The last thing I want is for my sweet little cousin to be pulled into it too.

"Jeremy wrote this?" Elena questions with worry in her voice.

"He's very clear that he didn't think it was real," Alaric says.

Elena shakes her head and looks up from the paper. "I really hope you're right because I've done so much to protect him from all of this."

She gives me Jeremy's paper, and I put it back in its slot with the rest of the other extra credit assignments that Alaric has given out to other students.

Alaric sighs as I walk back over to them. "So, how do you guys deal with it?" he asks us.

"What do you mean?" Elena questions in confusion.

Alaric looks away for a moment before looking back at us. "I don't know," he responds. "With all the lies and the secrets. You have to lie to everyone who's important to you."

I wanna tell him that it's really not that hard . . . at least, in my case. I always do what my parents expect of me, so they really don't question things very much. In fact, when I ask my mother if I can go out under the guise that I want to "socialize," she actually encourages me to do so. She has no idea what I'm really up to. And lying and keeping secrets from my friends is just as easy. Before I knew about the supernatural, I already kept plenty of things from them, like my obsession with steamy romance novels. 

Elena answers Alaric's question. "It's not safe for them to know the truth. So, yes, I keep it from them, but it's only because I love them," she explains.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Alaric nods before getting up off his desk and walking behind it. "I think Stefan is a good guy," he says. "But, uh, at the end of the day, he's still a vampire."

"I know it's hard to understand," Elena says. "But Stefan is different. He would never do anything to hurt me."

I know Elena means well, but even I think that statement was a little too hopeful and naive. I love Stefan, don't get me wrong, and I want to believe that he would never hurt someone. But like Alaric said, at the end of the day, he's still a vampire. And all vampires deal with blood lust whether we like it or not.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Harper's POV.

*The Founders' Day Kick-Off Party*

*The Founders' Hall*

Parties in Mystic Falls come up way too fast. I've been so absorbed in all the vampire drama that I completely forgot to buy new outfits for the upcoming Founders' events. Now, here I am, wearing my blue church dress yet again. I don't think anyone really notices or cares though, so whatever. The outfits that really matter are the dresses for the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant and the Founders' Day Parade. I'll have to worry about those outfits later.

I feel like I got the short end of the stick for this party. I literally have no anchor people to hang out with. Caroline is staying at her dad's house, and Bonnie is still away at her aunt's. Matt is somewhere off with Tyler probably drinking, and that just leaves Elena and Jeremy. I'm not sure if they have arrived yet, but I doubt I'll be able to hang with Elena much since she'll probably spend most of her time with Stefan.

So what have I been doing this whole time? I have been literally sitting on a couch by myself in some random room next to the main dance room. I have my glass of sparkling cider set out in front of me on a coffee table and my phone in hand. I would much rather be reading right now, but I've been keeping myself busy by playing Tetris on my phone. It's better than nothing, I suppose.

People have been passing by the room the whole night, so when I heart footsteps getting louder, I don't think much of it. Until the person they belong to stops at the entrance of the room and remains standing there.

Feeling their eyes on me, I turn my head to face them out of reflex. Damon, gosh, seriously?

I look back down at my phone, hoping that if I just ignore him, he'll go away.

He doesn't. He walks into the room. "What are you up to?" he asks.

"Nothing," I respond immediately, quickly facing my phone down on my thigh. I'm suddenly self-conscious of him knowing that I've been spending this party playing Tetris like an antisocial loner. Oh wait, I am an antisocial loner.

With a glass of champagne in hand, Damon takes a seat beside me on the couch. I ever so slightly scoot away from him, not by much, but just enough to give me some sort of sense of a barrier between us.

Why does he even want to talk to me? Our conversations in the past haven't exactly been enjoyable. You'd think that by now he would have taken the hint that I don't like him, even if he did help save Stefan from the tomb vampires.

"Did you know that your uncle has been kicking it with the Founders' Council?" he asks.

The question takes me by surprise. I have no idea what he is talking about. "What is a . . . 'Founders' Council'?" I ask.

His mouth hangs open for a moment. "Elena hasn't told you?"

"Maybe she forgot," I suggest, coming to my cousin's defense.

"So you mean to tell me that you have never heard of the adult Scooby Gang running this town?"

I don't like how he's speaking to me like I'm dumb. "I'm sorry, but, no, I haven't."

"Well, let me break it down for you." Damon sighs. "Members of the founding families have been meeting behind the scenes to hunt vampires, and your parents have been a part it, not to mention your amazingly charming uncle."

I shouldn't believe him so easily, but I do. This is a lot to take in. "I had no idea," I admit honestly. I finally get myself to make eye contact with him. "Thank you . . . for telling me."

"You're welcome." He flashes me a smile before sipping his drink.

And as soon as Damon appeared, he leaves, and I find myself getting extremely bored. I go off to the restroom to burn some time. On my way back to the room, I consider checking out what's going on in the dance room, but decide against it because there's no point if I'm not going to even dance.

When I make it back to the room, I'm surprised to see Jeremy sitting on the couch. It's a welcome surprise.

"Hey, Jer," I greet, walking over and joining him on the couch. "I see you found my secret hide-out." I gesture with my hand to the room we're in.

I'm a bit disappointed when he doesn't respond immediately. He just stares at the lit fireplace across from the couch. I'm about to ask him "are you okay?" when he finally says something.

"Do you think Vicki's death was an overdose?"

Oh no, he's suspicious.

"I mean, they said it was an overdose," I begin carefully. "I don't know what else it could have been." I hate lying to Jeremy, but I have to for his own good.

"Yeah, but somebody buried her body," he counters.

I quickly come up with the best lie that I can. "Maybe she overdosed, and somebody found her body. Maybe they didn't want to be blamed for her death so they buried her body for someone else to find later." Sounds plausible enough, I think.

"Is that what you really believe?" Jeremy asks.

"I guess." I grab my glass of sparkling cider from off the coffee table and take a few sips. Can Jeremy just change the subject already? He's really making this hard.

"I expected you of all people to take my side." Jeremy grumbles. "But you're just like everyone else."

I nearly choke on my drink after hearing him say that. He's right. Under different circumstances, I would have been suspicious of how they ruled Vicki's death. He probably thinks I don't care about what happened to her at all. He has no idea I'm playing dumb to protect him.

I hear footsteps at the entrance of the room. Elena appears in the doorway. Her stare meets mine, and I can tell by the look in her eyes that she wants to speak with Jeremy alone.

"See you later," I tell him before standing to my feet and leaving the room. I really don't know where to go, but luckily I don't have to worry about it for long because Matt comes up to me in the hallway.

"Where have you been?" he asks. "I haven't seen you all day."

"I've been around." I shrug. "This party is kinda boring."

"Really? Cause I've been having a blast." His lips pull up into a goofy grin. There seems to be something a little off about Matt. I think he might be a little tipsy from all that drinking with Tyler.

I force a smile on my face. "Well, at least you're having fun," I comment.

Matt turns his head to the side for a moment before calling out, "Elena!"

The said girl walks up to us. I wonder why she wanted to talk to Jeremy alone. It obviously didn't take very long.

"Who knew I've been missing all the fun at the Founders' parties," Matt says to her.

"This is rare. Believe me," Elena responds.

Matt gives her a bigger smile than necessary. "Is it bad that I'm, uh, enjoying myself?"

She shakes her head. "No, it's great that you're enjoying yourself. Thanks for making me dance."

"Yeah, no problem." Matt leans in to give her a hug, and she embraces him back.

Um, did he forget that I was here?

They let go of each other.

"Air." Matt chuckles, coming to his senses. "Air. I need some air." He gestures to the way out. "Um, you guys wanna come with me?" he asks, looking at both me and Elena.

Oh good, he didn't forget about me.

"Yeah, sure," I answer.

Elena hesitates before answering. "Sure," she finally says.

"You guys haven't seen my mom have you?" Matt questions.

"Um," says Elena. "No, not in a while."

"I haven't either," I say.

"Alright," he says.

With that, the three of us head outside. I'm not even out the door yet when Elena gasps. "Oh my God."

As soon as I step outside, I look around for what she's talking about. I follow her line of sight to Matt's mom and Tyler . . . kissing. My mouth hangs open in shock.

Matt doesn't waste a single second. He rushes up to them and yanks Tyler away from his mom by the back of his shirt. "What the hell are you doin', man?!" Matt yells.

Mrs. Donovan's eyes grow to the size of saucers. "Matt?!" she cries in shock, guilt written all over her face.

"Mom!" Matt screams her into silence.

"Whoa, dude, calm down," Tyler says.

Matt isn't having it. He punches Tyler in the face.

"Matt!" Elena yells.

Tyler and Matt get into a struggle. Taking his chance, Tyler punches Matt in the face. This sends Matt staggering violently backwards. His mom is in the way and gets pushed back into a table. She falls to the floor, glass breaking all over her.

"Mrs. Donovan!" I cry out. She needs help, but I can't get to her. Matt and Tyler are in the way.

At some point, Tyler has Matt pinned to the ground on his back. He punches him over and over and over again.

"Stop!" I scream, unable to watch anymore.

"Stop it!" Elena yells. "Tyler! Stop it! You're hurting him! Somebody help us!" she begs.

Finally, someone comes over to help — Alaric. He pulls Tyler off of Matt and pushes him up against a wall.

With the fighting out of the way, I rush forward to Mrs. Donovan who's still lying on the floor. She has a hand on her forehead.

I crouch down next to her. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine," she says, removing her hand from her forehead which reveals a bloody cut underneath.

"You're bleeding. I can get my mom," I offer.

She hastily shakes her head. "No, please don't. I'll be fine." She slowly gets to her feet.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Yes," she insists before going inside through a side entrance.

I go back to make sure Matt is okay. He's sitting in a chair, and Elena is with him.

As I approach, he looks up at me. "Where is she?" he demands, referring to his mom.

"She went inside." I shake my head. "I don't know where she is."

Matt's face falls as he struggles to blink back tears.

*Midnight in Harper's Bedroom*

I can't sleep.

I can't stop thinking about what Damon had said, about how my parents are a part of a council that's been hunting vampires. The more I think about it. The more it makes sense.

When the "animal attacks" had first started, my parents wouldn't let me go out after dark. They knew that that was the time when vampires were able to go out, and it wouldn't be safe for me.

There are also all those meetings my parents attend that I've always just sorta disregarded. I never really thought much of them. I thought my parents went to those meetings to help plan Founders' events and stuff like that. It never occurred to me that other stuff could be going on. That's probably why they never went into too much detail about what was discussed during those meetings when I asked about them.

A sudden thought occurs to me. Do my parents have vervain? And if so, do they wear it on them or ingest it?

There's no way I'm going to be able to fall asleep until I can get this question answered. Having an idea, I pull off my covers and get out of bed. As quietly as I can, I slip out of my room and go downstairs. In the darkness of the night, I sneak into the kitchen.

If there's one thing my parents are consistent with every day, it's drinking their morning coffee. They keep their coffee mix in a jar next to the coffee machine.

I lift the lid off the jar and using the little scooper inside, I take some coffee mix out and sniff.

It smells just like my vervain necklace.

Shoot.

My parents know.

Damon was right.

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

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a/n:

I don't think you guys realize how much work it takes to get the calendar dates right for this fic. I use the timeline on the Vampire Diaries Wiki page, but even then, some of the dates are noticeably off, and I have to adjust them. Knowing what day of the week and month it is really does help when writing the story though. It lets me know what days Harper has school, when events and birthdays are, and what's coming up in the future. That's it for now lol

-- roxy

( word count: 3.4k )