chapter one:
The return

     Thomas didn't think his morning would be full of preparations for his fathers funeral. The last he even saw his father was days ago, the man telling him to stay home for the night. He didn't pay much attention to it, his father never really cared enough if he left or not. Something about that night still just felt odd.

The way his father looked worried for once in his entire life, Thomas didn't even know his father could worry. Half the time he was ignoring him or yelling at him to do better with himself.

He was supposed to be this perfect vessel, a copy of Tyler. Yet Thomas didn't wanna be like his brother, he hated everything that was Tyler. That's probably why his relationship with his brother was shitty.

He felt alone even inside of his own home, his mother and brother were all he had left. Deep down he still felt utterly isolated and alone, no one would care if he dropped dead or disappeared for weeks.

He walked down the steps, watching as people went back and forth saying sorry, holding onto plates of food. He sighed as he walked towards the front door, Tyler stood there with a fake smile, his eyes dull as he thanked people for coming.

Thomas leaned into the doorway opposite, his gaze looking at people as they walked past. So many people were here and not a single one really cared about the mayor's death.

"You look like shit man, you could've at least put on the suit mom laid out for you". Thomas looked at Tyler as he smiled weakly at a woman who walked inside holding onto a tray of food.

"I hate suits, they make my neck itchy. It won't even matter, this shit show will be over in a few hours and I'll only stay for half of that, if I'm lucky".

Thomas pushed his hands into his sweater pocket as Tyler sighed "could at least pretend to care about this, you know mom will be pissed if you run off".

Thomas chuckled "please, I could leave right now and she wouldn't even notice, you're just pissed because you can't get away with it like me, seeing your mom's favorite of us both".

Tyler scoffed "yeah right man! We both know you're clearly the favorite, she lets you do whatever you want, now that dads dead it'll only increase".

Thomas rolled his eyes "likely to decrease". He walked past Tyler, he turned when Tyler grabbed his arm. "Seriously man, todays not the day to be a douchebag, if I'm stuck here, then so are you".

Thomas let out a heavy breath as he glared at Tyler "you gonna stop me? Otherwise let me go". Tyler sneered angrily as his hold tightened on Thomas's arm. "For once in your life, stop being an asshole".

Thomas felt the same rage he always felt slipping into his body. The same rage that made him feel cursed for most of his life. He pulled his arm out of Tyler's grasp, his foot slipping on the edge of the ground.

He cursed to himself as he fell down the first step bumping right into Elena. He let out a frustrated breath as he caught his balance.

His gaze looked right at Elena "watch it Gilbert". He hovered over her, her eyes intense as they looked straight into his. "You bumped into me" he nodded slightly "just watch your surroundings next time, can't have a repeat of eighth grade where I broke your leg by accident, we all know you're clumsy".

He smiled at her weakly before he started to walk down the steps. He turned around "also love the new look you got going on, it's almost like you're a completely new person".

He turned back around and walked off, he ignored the looks he got as he made his way towards the grill.

—

   Thomas was a loner, he had spent half of his childhood stuck inside rooms. Watching his parents argue back and forth as they tried to get him to befriend anyone, to be more like Tyler.

He remembered the harsh looks his father would send his way, the way he would make him be more open, be more aggressive. Make people like him just because his father was the mayor.

Thomas was the opposite of all of those things, he didn't listen to his fathers words. He definitely didn't try to kiss ass to make people like him. People would just hurt his feelings, make him care more.

He sighed softly as he ran his hands over his face. It was getting late and he knew he needed to be home. It wouldn't be a bad thing if he stayed here all night, drinking away any sorrows he had left.

His hands grasped the handle of the beer bottle, he had lost count of how many he managed to sneak. The bartender not caring if he was underage, he knew he likely looked miserable the second he sat down.

His hair a mess and the dark bags under his eyes noticeable as he took another swig of his beer. His eyes shifted away from the bottle as he turned at the sight of Elena sitting down beside him.

"You seriously can't catch a hint Gilbert, if you're expecting some apology from me, you ain't getting one". He took another swig of his beer, as he watched Elena take her jacket off, one she's never worn before.

She was silent, almost like she was watching him, or more so studying him. He took notice of the lack of people inside the grill, the only ones left were him and Elena. The bartender was likely getting ready to close soon, which meant he would be kicked out.

He didn't notice the twitchy bartender behind the counter, grabbing an ice pick as they neared him. Elena smiled slightly "maybe you can do something else for me instead". Her voice sounded so different, he noticed it so fast as he turned and looked at her.

"You hitting on me or something? I thought you were with that Salvatore guy, whatever his name is". He set the empty beer bottle onto the counter, sighing.

Elena didn't look amused by his choice of words; she unknowingly smirked when the bartender went to hand Thomas another beer.

Thomas screamed out when the ice pick slammed into his hand, "what the fuck man!". The blood coated the bar top as he sneered angrily, Elena flinched when Thomas eyes glowed amber.

His other hand pulled the ice pick out with ease, the flesh healing itself in a matter of seconds. The bartender snapped out of the trance the second Thomas punched him.

Thomas let the guy fall towards the ground, his hand shaking as he pushed himself away from the stool. "Go home Elena" he ignored the girl as he grabbed another beer from behind the counter.

He paused for a moment as he looked upwards "you know, I've had this funny feeling ever since I bumped into you earlier, you smell different...".

He pulled open the bottle of beer as he took a swig of it "like really different" he moved closer to her. He looked at her "I get the feeling you're not Elena, unless I'm just really drunk".

She looked at him, "if I tell you, will you tell me how you triggered your little curse". She took amusement in his downfall, he could sense it.

"You're definitely not Elena, she's not that smart, I kept myself hidden, no one aside from my father knew about it... clearly didn't go well for him".

"Let me guess, he's the reason you're not locked behind bars right now? Daddy's little boy, shame if he was locked away for murder, the family name would be dragged in the mud, you'd be disowned".

Thomas didn't flinch at her words "I'm already all of those things, not exactly a family favorite. Gosh you really do reek by the way, seriously what are you?".

He sniffed the air for a moment and then shook his head "I've only smelled this whenever I'm around those stupid Salvatore's... gives me such a headache".

She sat up straighter "and what do you smell?". He looked saddened for a moment "death, just like intense death, it's depressing.... Really depressing".

She hummed slightly "you're different from others, unless they keep this little part hidden". She stood up and he sighed "my father said.... No one else he knew could smell anything off about people. Then again he didn't really know shit about the curse".

"What if it didn't have to be a curse?" he scoffed as she grabbed a hold of his shoulders. "It's always gonna be a curse regardless of it being active or not. How about you fess up and tell me who the hell you are, cause you're definitely not Elena".

She smirked "I will, if you tell me who you killed, I had plans on having you kill the bartender, but clearly it wasn't necessary. And my source wasn't any good".

Thomas was silent as he leaned into the wall "I was ten, this kid stole my backpack at the park. I just remembered being so pissed off, so angry. And then he was dead, I accidentally pushed him into the road.... The car came out of nowhere. Ever since then my dad made me stay quiet, kept me locked up every full moon, I didn't kill the kid on purpose it didn't even matter, he was dead... so the curse took its course. Lucky me".

He smiled weakly as he took another swig of his beer, he felt small under her gaze. She moved back slightly as she processed what he said, then she started to leave. "Hey! We had a deal, who the hell are you?".

He ran after her and she turned "you'll find out eventually". He blinked and she was gone, he let out a shaky breath as he looked around the grill. "Well shit, what the fuck did I get myself into".

—
authors note:
Figured I'd get the first chapter of this published, it was honestly kinda entertaining to write. I'm slowly telling myself to write for other books, an update schedule wouldn't do any good, I'd feel rushed and forced to publish something. So for now I'll just make my way through my books one at a time. Enjoy!