twenty eight

This chapter's probably going to be quite a long one, so enjoy :)

- Chapter Twenty Eight -

I allowed myself to fully relax as I sat in Elena's car, closing my eyes in an attempt to forget the argument I had just had with my brothers and focus on having fun and just letting myself go a little.

Elena and I swapped a few words, laughing and all in all just getting ready to party the night away and enjoy the moments where we could just forget all our troubles.

It was almost too soon until we pulled up into the driveway of the party, all the lights in the house were on and music could be heard even from inside the car. There were a few teenagers milling outside, all holding similar red cups and talking to one another. I took in a deep but silent breath, clenching my hands to stop my hands from shaking.

Relax.

You've got this.

"Brook?"

My eyes shot around to Elena. She was staring at me with a curious eyebrow raised, a look of concern washing over her features. "You ok?" She asked, a frown appearing between her eyes.

I scoffed, reaching for the handle of the car door as I pushed down any doubt that desperately wanted to poke it's ugly head out and laughed lightly. "I'm great, now let's get this party started."

She simply sent me a warm smile before clambering out the car with me, both of us slamming the doors simultaneously. I walked over to Elena's side, a smirk on my face as I caught a glimpse of the dancing silhouettes in the larger window of the house, various colours of lights flashing through the glass.

I looked over at Elena as she linked her arm in mine, an eager smile on her face as she started to pull me towards the double door entrance to the bigger-than-I-expected house. As we passed, most of the teenagers turned to look at us, some nodding and mumbling greetings while one guy wolf-whistled loudly across the lawn at us, causing my cheeks to flush a light pink colour as Elena continued to pull me in the house.

As soon as we walked in, the cold night air dissipated and we were engulfed by the warmth of huddled bodies and the smell of alcohol and mixed fragrances. A grin made it's way across my face as I allowed the music playing to calm my nerves and relax every muscle in my body. My eyes fell on the make-shift dance floor in the living room where the leather sofa's were pushed to the edges of the room and the large wooden space in the centre was filled with a bunch of mingled bodies dancing. In one corner was a DJ booth where some kid had the typical headphones wrapped aorund his neck as he bounced to the thumping music around us.

I found my body lightly swaying as I felt the music vibrate around us, through the floors, through the walls and through my entire body. Even though my hearing was more sensitive than normal, the music was almost welcome instead of being uncomfortable and almost painful.

All together, I think I liked the atmosphere.

Elena let out a sudden woop, throwing her free hand in the air as she bounced her head to the lyrics of the song 'Fancy' that was echoeing around us. I laughed loudly, the noise disppearing in the midst of the screaming teenagers and thunderous music. She suddenly started to pull me through the dance floor, her eyes showing determination as she shoved all the grinding bodies to the side.

I followed obediantly, even though I didn't have much of a choice, and simply apologised on behalf of my steam-roller best friend as she threw herself amongst everyone. I let out a quiet yelp as I felt someone's hand touch my butt and tried to scowl over my shoudler, not able to catch a glimpse as Elena dragged me past the dance floor and into another room.

I looked back ahead of me, the scowl still on my face from that very touchy-feely moment. The scowl was immediately replaced with a look of shock as Caroline came barrelling towards me, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. I yelped again, throwing my arms out to balance myself as she let out a giggle.

"Brook, you came!"

I glanced at Elena. "I didn't have much of a choice, to be honest."

"I'm still glad you came! It's gonna be a blast!" She pulled back, her red lips in a wide grin as she beamed at me. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and the red dress she wore made her look almost radiant in the dim light of the kitchen.

"Brook!"

"Wh-AH!" I screamed as Bonnie threw herself against me, causing Caroline to fall into me in the process so we were a massive tangle of bodies.

"I missed you!" Bonnie said, pulling back with an equal grin on her face as she stood back next to Elena, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears.

"I missed you, too." I laughed, looking down at my t-shirt and rearranging it the best I could from the stampede of girls.

"Here." Caroline grinned, turning around and grabbing a red plastic cup and shoving it into my hands. My eyes widened and I almost grimaced at the thick lime-green fluid inside the cup.

"Did someone sneeze in the bowl or something?"

"That's gross." Bonnie mumbled, her nose screwing up in disgust as she put her cup down on the counter and began to push it away like it was a disease.

I looked down at the liquid in distaste and tentatively began to give it back to Caroline. "I think I'll pass." I said, scowling at her when she just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Drink it." She dead-panned.

"Are you crazy? No!"

"Drink it, Salvatore."

"Make me, Forbes." I shot back almost immediately, my wrist beginning to ache from holding the cup in mid-air.

Caroline didn't take more than a few seconds before she grabbed the cup and started to push it towards my mouth.

"I refuse to drink mucus!" I shouted, my other hand flailing around, eventually landing on her face as I pushed it back, trying to get her as far away as I could.

"Just drink the damn drink!"

"Never!"

"Fine!" She huffed moodily, snatching the cup from me and slamming it on the counter, the liquid sloshing around in the cup and onto the counter, before storming off to the otherside of the little island. She crouched down and we could hear her clattering around in the cupboards for something.

Elena and Bonnie glanced unsurely at me, their eyes wide in anticipation as Caroline's head shot back up, a triumphant and satisfied smile on her face. She slammed a bottle down on the counter.

Elena, Bonnie and I all craned our heads to read the bold writing sprawled across the clear glass of the bottle.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You want me to drink tequila?"

"Hell yeah, I want you to drink tequila." She laughed, reaching across the counter and grabbing a plastic cup. She unscrewed the lid and poured it into the cup, giving a rather generous amount of it to me.

"Jesus Christ." Elena mumbled, shooting me a sympathetic glance. Caroline grinned evilly, picking up the cup and holding out to me. We stared at each other for a few moments, neither falting and her grin still plastered as she shook the cup teasingly, an eyebrow raising slightly.

I rolled my eyes, snatching it away impatiently and looking down at the yellow-tinged drink. "Aren't you supposed to drink these in shots?" I asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at the still-grinning Caroline.

"Yep." When the 'p' popped, I simply glared at her with an unamused expression.

Well, if I was going to get wasted, I was going to do it in style.

I simply grinned back at her, flipping the hair out of my face slightly before raising it in my hand. "Awesome." I pressed the cup to my lips, my eyes closing as I allowed the drink to go down my throat. The burn was more intense than I expected but then again, this was about 10 shots in a single go.

I shook my head once the cup was empty, my eyes screwing together as the slightly bitter taste lingered on my tongue and lips. I passed the cup back to Caroline, who was watching me with a satisfied expression. Elena and Bonnie however, they were looking at me with a mixture of awe and shock.

"Did you actually just do that?" Bonnie asked, her mouth dropping slightly.

"And still standing." I grinned, throwing her a thumbs up as I didn't even feel slightly tipsy. Caroline and Bonnie knew I was a vampire. They just didn't know I wasn't a full blooded one. Elena opened her mouth to make another comment when their eyes all focused on something behind me. I frowned, about to turn around when a familiar voice stopped me.

"I didn't think you'd come."

I spun around faster than I anticipated and nearly smacked my head on Dylan's solid chest. "Dylan." I grinned, ignoring his arms that suddenly wrapped around my shoulders.

A chuckle vibrated through his chest as he looked down at me. "I thought you'd chicken out."

Another chuckle ran through his chest as I playfully slapped it, a hollow sound echoeing quietly. "I would not chicken out." I huffed.

He was about to say something else, when his eyes looked behind me and he froze.

What is it with people and staring behind me?

I looked over my shoulder, my eyes immediately landing on Bonnie who was staring coldly at Dylan. Caroline's lips were also pursed tightly and Elena just stood there, looking almost as confused as me.

"Bonnie." Dylan bit out, venom lacing his tone as the words were ground out between clenched teeth. I stared at him, frowning at the rude tone to his voice.

"Dylan." The words came out in a hiss and by the stare she was giving Dylan, I was surprised Bonnie hadn't made the guy spontaneously combust in flames.

"Nice to see you here." The words were sarcastic and cold and I slowly started to move away from the front of Dylan to stand beside him, but his hand reached out and gripped my shoulder, keeping me in place. I raised an eyebrow at the almost possessive movement but ignored it as I allowed the two to carry on with their 'conversation' - if that's what this thing was even called.

"Wish I could say the same for you."

"Come on," Caroline bit out, grabbing Bonnie's arm and starting to lead her out the kitchen, shooting Dylan an ice-cold glare as she passed.

I watched them disappear among the bodies of teenagers dancing in the main area before staring up at Dylan with a curious expression.

"Warms the heart to see such a friendly exchange between people." I commented as Elena joined my side, staring up at Dylan as well.

"We have...history." He mumbled, reaching up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly, his eyes trailing off into the room they disappeared into.

I cocked my head to the side. "You going to continue the explanation or are you trying to be all mysterious?"

He let out a chuckle before locking eyes with me. "We dated a while back and we didn't exactly end on good terms."

A noise of realisation left mine and Elena's mouths as we pieced the puzzle together at the confrontation that took place a few moments ago.

"But, putting that aside, I'm glad you turned up." He grinned, his white teeth sparkling in the dim kitchen lighting.

I laughed, looking over at Elena. "It took some convincing."

"And a lot of swear words." Elena mumbled, shooting me a glare.

"But here I am." I shrugged.

"You look nice." He commented, his eyes travelling down my body. I took in a deep breath, not liking the feeling that ran through my body at the gesture.

There was probably only one boy that I would allow to do that, and I hadn't heard from him a very long while. Coming from anyone else...it didn't sit right with me.

"Thanks. You look pretty awful yourself." I grinned, my eyes taking in his dark jeans and dark polo.

He opened his mouth to retort when I felt someone's hand grab my arm and begin tugging me towards the dance floor. I pursed my lips as Dylan stared after me, his eyes only looking away when a tall guy came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Brook, listen to me," My head shot around to Bonnie who was staring at me worriedly. I looked at her with a frown as I waited for her to continue. "Dylan's not who you think."

"What are you talking about?" I chuckled, although an uneasy feeling was settling in my stomach at the seriousness of her warning.

"He's-"

I let out a noise of protest as someone suddenly grabbed Bonnie around the waist and began pulling her deeper into the circle of dancers, Caroline soon rolling her eyes and following her into the sea of teenagers.

I let out a huff, annoyed that her explanation had been interrupted. I was about to go back to the kitchen to get Elena when some boy with blonde hair grabbed my hand and tugged me closer to them.

"Matt?" I frowned up at the tall figure, a smile working it's way onto my face at the familiar face that I hadn't seen in a while.

"It's been a while, Brook." He shouted over the dupstep blaring through the speakers, a lopsided smirk on his lips. "How've you been?"

"Forget me, where the hell've you been?" I asked back, the sudden realisation hitting me that I hadn't seen him around school in ages.

"I've been busy with family and stuff." He shouted back, a little quieter which made me realise it was obviously a touchy subject.

I simply nodded my head, smiling up at him in the dark room as I felt the music vibrate through my shoes and up my legs.

"Now, come on, dance with me." He smirked, grabbing my hands and waving them around playfully to the beat of the music. I let out a laugh and allowed him to puppeteer me for a while before we both began to rave along with everyone else in the room.

**

Matt and I had been dancing for about half an hour now, and we were far from tired. We were currently in the centre of a group of loud dancers, both of us screaming the lyrics loudly as our bodies grinded against one another to the beat of the music. My hair was bouncing around my shoulders as Matt's arm was slung over my shoulder.

I was having the time of my incredibly-long life.

"SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS, EVERYBODY, SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS, EVERYBODY, LET ME SEE YOU DO IT!" My voice hadn't even begun to grow hoarse despite how loudly and forcefully I was singing the lyrics along with everyone around me. Matt's body was swaying against mine as we jumped repeatedly on the spot to the beat.

"NOW WHERE MY ALCOHOLICS, LET ME SEE YOUR HANDS UP-" I was in the middle of screaming the line of the song when a hand slid around my waist and tugged me away from the comforting embrace of Matt.

I let out a childish moan as Matt looked down at the empty space beside him, scowling at the person who'd grabbed me away from the dancing circle.

"Dude not cool, I was just getting started." I continued to whine as the person pulled me away from the dance floor. I hadn't even bothered to look and see who'd grabbed me and instead just pouted at the dancing teenagers in envy as the strong arm tightened it's grip. I let out a yelp as they forcefully pulled me in front of them, their hands slamming against the wood of a door that had suddenly appeared in front of us.

"Are you a wizard? How'd you do that?" I asked in an excited voice, but soon yelped as they pushed me violently into the room. I stumbled in, a frown appearing on my face as I composed myself and looked up. There were books lining the various shelves put up around the room. There was a large wooden desk and a leather chair pushed up against the centre wall and various ornaments lined the study.

"Hey, what gives-?" I began angrily, spinning around and glaring at the person in front of me. My posture softened but I continued to scowl at the tall teenage boy in front of me.

"Dylan, why did you-"

"Shut up." He growled.

I raised an eyebrow at his sudden rudeness, finally taking in his rigid posture and angry expression. "Ok, are you PMS-ing or-?"

I didn't get a chance to answer as he lunged at me and pressed a hand against my mouth, knocking both of us to the floor, the sound of a vase smashing ruining the silence of the room. I started to shout profanities under his tight grip on my mouth, before I realised that I was struggling to breathe. I began kicking my legs violently, my foot smacking against his thigh with a loud thud. He didn't even flinch, simply grinned and chuckled lowly before raising his free hand.

A sickening crack echoed around the small room before the loud music began to fade and the image of Dylan grinning manically fading before my vision went black.

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That took me ages to write, but I enjoyed it!

SO YOU ALL THOUGHT DYLAN WAS NICE BUT OH

This is probably the biggest plot twist I've ever written and probably the most fun to write. I was going to split this chapter in half but I felt bad and decided to just give you the whole whammy.

A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS READ, VOTED, COMMENTED AND SUPPORTED THIS STORY, I LOVE YOU ALL.

You guys are amazing :D

For the next chapter:

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Thank you again for all the support and I hope you're all enjoying the story :D

- Emma :B