[*Chapter Twenty-Four*]

Yep, another! Enjoy. I'm stalling for a reason 😉

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"Alright, that's enough mushiness for today!" Darcy joked, pulling away from Jenna with a playful grimace, earning a slap on her arm. She laughed, then looked at Jenna's appearance since first stepping inside the house, seeing her wearing her decade outfit for the dance. She whistled, "Damn, you look hot, J."

Jenna giggled, whipping the dishrag off the dining table and slapping her butt.

"Ouch!" Darcy claimed with her hands holding her rear.

"So, you're coming to the dance?" Elena blurted out, breaking this playful banter.

Jenna nodded. "Alaric asked me to help chaperone." The ebony-head whistled again, earning her another slap.

"Okay! Okay. Ouch! Stop. I'm sorry, Jenna!" She cried out when Jenna continued whipping away.

"Hello!" Elena shouted, putting a stop to their joking around.

They sighed, knowing what was coming, both shook their heads. Darcy pointed at their aunt. "Nu-uh, you're the adult." She sat back down in her seat, plucking an apple from the fruit bowl, taking a bite while Jenna glared at the back of her head.

"Why didn't you tell me, Jenna?" Elena asked, turning her back to Darcy's probing gaze as she nibbled away on the apple.

Jenna sighed, sitting beside Darcy, and took a deep breath. "Your mum was going to do It eventually. I never thought I'd have to."

"If my mum were here right now and she asked, she'd tell me the truth." "Oww!" She exclaimed, feeling something smack the side of her head. Elena rubbed her head, her gaze going down to the green apple bouncing to the floor by her feet. "What the?"

"That's for being disrespectful. It's rude. Jenna is trying, hear her out instead of bitching." Darcy stated while examining her red nail varnish. I need to top them up; they're chipping.

She ignored the burning gaze directed at her head, peeking at Jenna; she patted her hand, giving her a push. It was her turn of support.

Jenna exhaled heavily. "Your dad was about to leave the office one night when a girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her baby, and he gave her a place to stay. But a few days later, she disappeared. And then there you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I guess it just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mum."

Elena nodded, "Well, why were my parents' names on the birth certificate?"

"Why do you think, Elena? Use your logic. Dad was a doctor. All he needed to do was sign a signature and ta-da. He's your new daddy." Darcy said with a sarcastic flair, throwing her arms around.

"Not helping, Darce!" Elena burst out, her tanned cheeks blossoming with red.

Jenna turned her head away, hiding her grin. Darcy never failed to make her crack at the most inappropriate times.

"That's not the point, and you know it! Why wouldn't they say anything?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because they aren't here too. You know?"

Elena opened and closed her mouth. She nodded, looking down at her feet. "Yeah." She whispered sadly.

Darcy stood up and gathered Elena in her arms, her chin on Elena's head. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm too hard on you. But you need to give Jenna a break, okay? She didn't ask to be put in this position. None of us did. Okay? She will answer all the questions that she can."

"Okay. Sorry." Elena mumbled into her neck, wrapping her arms around Darcy. "Thank you. As always."

"Shh. It's okay now. Now go get your answers. I'm gonna get ready for the dance." Darcy said, pulling away and skipping up the steps.

💜🖤💜

Darcy was in the process of getting ready for the dance, curling her hair into loose curls, and swiping on her famous blood-red lipstick when she heard a ticking sound. Frowning, she capped the lipstick, laying it back on her vanity, and looked around her room. A strange pit began to build in her stomach, a sign something was wrong or something bad was going to happen. Spinning around, her eyes glanced around, staring in every corner, trailing her grey curtains, skimming the wooden flooring. When nothing came up, she furrowed her brows when the noise stopped. Her shoulders sagged a bit, but she still kept on guard.

Again. The ticking resumed. "Elena," Darcy called, loud enough for her sister to hear on the opposite side of the hallway.

Elena's door opened, then she appeared in the open doorway. "Yeah?...Wow! You look hot!"

"Forget about that. Can you hear a ticking noise?"

Elena looked at her puzzled but listened anyway. She titled her head, then jerked it upwards when she heard the sound. "Yeah." She confirmed the Huntress wasn't going mad. "What is it?"

"I don't know..." Darcy trailed off, still looking around, then halted when her sight landed on her bag resting on the bed. Her gaze widened with realization, she diverted her look to Elena. "The compass!" She exclaimed before darting forwards and snatching open the bag. Her sister appeared at her side as she flipped open the lid. They both froze, seeing the arrow whizzing around.

"Shit, Elena. Call Stefan!" She demanded, freaking out, thinking a vampire could be nearby.

"It could be Stefan; he should be on his way."

"Just do it! I don't like this feeling I'm getting."

"Okay! Okay." Elena scrambled around looking for Darcy's phone; she found it on her vanity and hastily called Stefan only to get no reply. "No answer."

"Try again."

"But.."

"Dammit, Elena. Try it again!" Darcy shouted and yanked on her hair when the feeling grew stronger. She paused, then plucked the stake from her bag then ran out into the hallway. "Jeremy? Jenna?" She cursed at the lack of reply.

"Ahh, Princess! How may I help you?" Damon's voice sang over the speaker.

Elena's face scrunched up in disgust. "Uhh, wrong person. Where is he?! Where's Stefan?"

"He's on his way to you. He forgot his phone."

"Thank God-"

"Damon, the compass is spinning." Darcy snatched the phone off Elena. She paced around as the device continued to tick.

"It must be Stefan. He's on his way."

"I don't know, Damon. Something doesn't feel right."

"You're fine. It's just Stefan."

She hung up, chucking the phone onto her bed, and sighed with relief when the device stopped its annoying spinning around. Just as she places it next to her phone, a guy jumped down from the ceiling and grabbed Elena. Darcy screamed, snatching up her baseball bat, and shot towards them; hauling the metal bat over her shoulder, she smashed it onto the guy's skull, causing him to hiss and clutch his head as he released Elena. His veiny-red eyes narrowed on the dark-haired girl, still wielded the bat, not backing down.

"Come on then, big guy. Want to play? I've got more hits than that." Darcy taunted as she widened her stance and clenched her hands tighter around the metal.

The guy hissed again and lunged towards her, with his hands outstretched to claps around her neck. "No!" Stefan roared and jumped on top of him. They both fall to the floor while Darcy stands protectively in front of Elena, blocking any access if the vampire changes his plans and decides to eat her sister instead. She backed up as they scrambled around until the guy stood up and sped away.

"Thank God," Darcy breathed, gathering Elena in her arms. "What we gonna do with you? You're a damn vampire magnet." She mumbled into the brunette's hair.

Stefan gathered himself from the ground, also breathing a sigh of relief seeing the girls untouched. "Are you okay?" His gaze roaming over as he stepped towards them.

💜🖤💜

Not much after, the three were sat on the sofa in the living room as Damon sat on the arm next to Darcy, fussy over her like a concerned parent, checking for any damage. "I'm fine." She huffed, slapping his hand when his hands began to get a bit too adventurous.

"How did he get in?" Damon asked, looking between them, his gaze landing back on the hunter.

She sighed, rolling her eyes at Elena. "Elena gave Jer money to get pizza last night. The vampire posed as a delivery guy."

Damon hummed, almost impressed. "Well, he gets points for that. Did he say what he wanted?"

Elena scoffed. "No. He was too busy trying to eat me. The Darcy thought it was fun to try and play wack-a-mole."

Darcy sniggered, "Okay, not my finest moment, but what's a girl to do when a vampire dude trying to sink his fangs in your neck?... You beat them first."

"Still. If Stefan never got here on time, we would have both been dead."

"Oh, stop being dramatic." Darcy muttered, "Liven up a bit. It can't be doing you any good with a stick jammed up your ass 24/7."

Damon laughed, throwing his head back, clapping his hands. "Ooh! That was a good one."

Elena gaped, offended. She narrowed her gaze at Stefan seeing trying to cover up his little snickers. He froze before clearing his throat. "Alright, back to tonight." He looked over at his brother. "And, you have no idea who this is?"

"No." Damon paused at Stefan's raised eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that. I told you we had company."

Worry clouded Elena's face, she clasped Darcy's hand, receiving a comforting squeeze in return. "You think there's more than one?"

"We don't know." Darcy sighed.

"Damon, he was invited in, meaning he could come back at any time."

"And finish what he started." Darcy finished, getting a jab from Elena in her side for her unhelpful comment.

"Then we get him tonight," Damon said a little eagerly, rubbing his hand enthusiastically.

"You up for it?" Stefan asked Elena, not even bothering to ask Darcy, knowing she was too much like Damon in that department.

Elena glanced at her sister; seeing her encouraging nod, she looked back to her boyfriend. "What do I have to do?"

Damon stood up, brushing down his leather-clad arms. "Let your boyfriend take you to the dance." He hauled up Darcy, "I'll take Darcy." He gave her a smug smirk, receiving a punch in his arm. "And we'll see who shows up."

"That's a bad idea." Stefan protested, shaking his head.

Damon shrugged, glancing at Darcy, who gave him a nod of approval. The Protectress looked down at Stefan as he placed his arm around Elena. "Stefan, if we let another vampire run around, it wouldn't be long before he comes back, and what happens when neither Elena nor I am not home, and they hurt Jeremy or Jenna? I can't have that. I won't allow my family to get hurt." She looked deep into his eyes, allowing them to mist over, showing him her inner pain at the thought of her family in danger.

Stefan remained eye contact; he flickered his gaze to his brother and sighed when Damon stood silent. "

"I'll do it. I'll be with the three of you. Plus, Darcy will keep me safe." Elena said as she gulped back her emotions. She'll be fine as long as Darcy is by her side.

With what seemed like minutes passed by, they arrived at the school. Damon went to check outside to make sure everything was safe while Darcy, Elena, and Stefan entered the gym. They immediately spotted Bonnie and Caroline. "My babes!" Darcy gushed, ambushing them in a strangling hug. "I've missed you," She fake cried.

"Can't...breathe...Darcy." Caroline gasped out while Bonnie kept pushing Darcy's face to get her to release her restrictive hold.

"Let them go. You're suffocating them." Elena chuckled at her sister's antics. Stefan watched from the sidelines, not hiding his smile.

Darcy whined, "But...I missed them." She sniffled.

"Hey! I've not spent hours...to get into this dress...for...you to ruin it!" Caroline wheezed. She wrestled a bit more and managed to shove Darcy off her.

She stumbled back on her red kitten heels, with a pout gracing her freshly re-done red lips. "Mean."

"Besides, you saw us today. Isn't that enough?" Bonnie asked as she brushed herself off.

"Nope! We're threesome buddies now!" Darcy beamed and winked at Stefan when he choked on his breath. "You're just jealous you'll miss out on a good show, Steffy!" She sang, walking over to him and draping her arm along his shoulders. She flashed him a smirk when he continued coughing.

The girls laughed at his state while he turned around to gather himself. His shoulders shook with silent laughter. Finally, he got a hold of himself, pinching the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. Darcy moved to his front and bent to his view. "Aww, he's all hot and bothered!" She cooed and pinched his cheeks.

Stefan chuckled, "You're a mess."

"A hot one at that!"

Caroline and Bonnie were in hysterics, clutching their stomachs. "A whole ass mood!" They hollered. "But, we love you for it." When they sobered up.

"Elena rolled her eyes and walked over to pull Darcy away, "Stop terrorizing him. Look what you've done. You rendered him speechless."

Darcy waved her arm dismissively. "Ahh, he'll be okay. I'm helping him recover from his broodish ways. I mean, have you seen those forehead wrinkles?"

"Darcy!" Elena exclaimed in shock, glancing over her shoulder at Stefan; his mouth dropped open in disbelief. She mouthed 'sorry.'

Bonnie had managed to get herself a drink and spat out a mouthful, some unlucky guy passing by got sprayed in his face. "Ahh. What the hell!"

"Oh..my God! I'm so sorry!" She stammered. She glared daggers at Caroline and Darcy as they folded over, crying with laughter.

"Whatever, man." He huffed and walked off.

"You bitches!" She cried, then slapped Darcy on her arm. "And you, that was your fault!"

"Omg! T-that was a-amazing! Did you see his f-face?"

"Stop" smack "Laughing" smack "It's not funny. Poor guy got sprayed on!"

"OWW! Okay. I'm sorry! What's with everyone hitting me today. You hit like a girl!"

"I am a girl!"

"Hey, what's all the Darcy abuse about?" Damon's voice floated behind them. They all froze.

"What's Damon doing here?" Caroline sobered up fast, glaring at the older vampire. Her gaze flitted between Elena, Stefan, and Damon. "Is this like a threesome now?"

Elena shook her head. "No! He wanted to come. I promise. He'll behave." She said. "And if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon." Earning a scoff from the devil himself.

Damon grinned smugly a the Bennett witch, "Hi, Bonnie. Wanna dance?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm out of here." She said, turning around.

"Please give me another chance." He asked.

"Back off, Damon." Caroline snapped and followed behind Bonnie.

Not many people knew how Damon worked. They saw him as a giant ass who loved to create a mess and kill humans. They saw him as cold-hearted, with no disregard for humans. But Darcy knew deep down behind the facade was a little lost boy begging for forgiveness. And here, right now, she could distinguish the plea behind his words.

So when he asked for a dance, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to twirl her around the dancefloor, laughing and beaming at the smile lighting up his face. For once, he genuinely looked happy, and if it means allowing him to act like a fool to see him this carefree, she'll do it a million times again.

Elena and Stefan watched the pair from the sidelines, both smiling as they danced around crazy, not caring for the odd looks they received as Damon nearly dropped Darcy on the floor when he dipped her. "She's good for him, you know?" Stefan said. "I've not seen him smile or laugh like this since...since we were human."

"Really?" Elena asked, finding it hard to imagine.

"Hmm. Before Katherine came along and screwed everything up." And he's damn thankful. Stefan and Damon might fight, but beyond all that, they love each other. They will do anything to keep that happiness, and if that means having Darcy in their lives, she can stay. They will forever be thankful for her bringing them back together again. Slowly. Piece by piece. But in the back of Stefan's mind, he's afraid. And for a good reason. Because in their life, happiness doesn't last.

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Oops, see ya! 👋😘