[*Chapter Five*]

"Listen I'm not saying you shouldn't date the guy, I'm just saying take it slow," Bonnie said, treading carefully, knowing how much Elena liked Stefan.

"You are the one who said to go for it," Elena said confused as to why Bonnie is saying this.

Bonnie glanced at Darcy who gave her an encouraging nod, which didn't go missed by Elena, "Now I'm saying take it slow." She justified.

Last night after Bonnie's weird encounter with Stefan she phoned Darcy, telling her what happened. When she touched him, she felt death. Darcy who knew the Salvatore's secret said to trust her instincts. Regardless of Stefan being a vampire, she felt a calm aura around him and is giving him the benefit of the doubt. He's still a vampire. Damon, on the other hand, she'll keep a close eye on.

"Listen to her Le," Darcy said, placing her arm around the brunette.

Elena glanced at her sister, seeing if she could pick up on anything, she couldn't so turn back to Bonnie, "Why about the about-face?" Elena asked as the three cuts across the grass towards the school.

"It's not an about-face." Bonnies said. She shrugged, "You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. You should take a page out of Darcy's book."

"I agree with Bon. I was with Tyler for three years. Yes, I'm gutted we split, but it was a mutual agreement, and I'm happy." Darcy said, ruffling her sister's hair. Darcy feels she doesn't need a man in life; all they do is eat, sleep, shit, moan, beg, and follow like a lost puppy. Sure there's the sex side of it all, but she's got hands...and toys.

"Oh, because I'm that girl." Elena scoffed. "Seriously, what are you not saying?" She knows something must have happened for Bonnie to be this spooked.

"It's stupid," Bonnie said, shaking her head.

Darcy stopped grabbing Bonnie's shoulders, turning her around, so they were facing each other, "Bonnie Bennett! What have I told you about putting yourself down? Hmm."

"Not to because I'm amazing, and the world deserves to see me like the queen I am," Bonnie said, smiling slightly at her friend.

"Exactly. So no more of this crap, okay? Grab your crown and show us the real queen." Darcy said nodding. Bonnie copies her actions turning to Elena.

"I touched Stefan," Darcy snorted at how wrong he sounded, receiving an elbow in her side. "As I was saying before I was rudely disrupted. I accidentally touched Stefan and got a really bad feeling," Bonnie said.

"Is that it?" Elena asked perplexed, not seeing what the problem was. Darcy and Bonnie looked at each shrugging. Oh, so naïve.

"It was 'bad' 'bad'," Bonnie said stressing on the word bad.

"Is this the whole witchy-mojo thing again?" Elena said. Darcy nudged her for being rude but got ignored.

"You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing my concern about my best friends boyfriend." Bonnie said shrugging.

"And I love you for it. I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to feel like things are getting back to normal again." Yeah, lucky for some Darcy thought, cutting out of the sappy conversation, tuning back in when Stefan appears next to her.

"Morning, Elena. Morning Bonnie. Morning Darcella." Stefan said, pinning his green eyes on to Darcy's. They all said their greetings, bar Darcy who winked at him. Knowing he must be dying for answers. Well, Steffy-poo is just going to have to wait.

"Hey, um, I gotta go find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. See you, guys." Bonnie said and walked off.

"Bonnie wait," Elena called, but Bonnie ignored her, sending a sorry smile to Darcy,

"She doesn't like me very much," Stefan stated he noticed how Bonnie wanted to get away from him. Darcy hummed, receiving a glare from Elena and a confused look from Stefan.

"She just doesn't know you," Darcy said shrugging, flashing him a grin when he never once moved his probing gaze away.

"She is my best friend, and she's just looking out for me, but when she does, she'll love you," Elena said to Stefan as the duo started walking towards the entrance of the school. Elena paused, causing the other two to do the same. "Here's what we're gonna do. Are you free tonight?"

Stefan thought for a second before confirming he was free.

"Perfect. Dinner, my house, 8: 00 pm. You, me, Bonnie and Darcy. You will all spend some quality time, and she'll get to see what a great guy you are." Elena said grinning, showing off her white teeth.

"Hold on. Why am I getting dragged into this?" Darcy interjected. She and Stefan get on fine, so why do they need to spend quality time together?

"You're the one who knows how to cook." Elena shrugged.

"So, just order take out?" Darcy said. Why is she going all out to impress a boy?

"Hmm. I don't know. I think I gotta try and judge for myself." Stefan teased, flashing her a smug grin. She glared back, mugging him, causing him to chuckle.

"Fine, fine. Don't come crying to me when you get food poisoning." Darcy said with a sweet Chesire grin. A plan was already forming in her mind.

Just as she said that Stefan suddenly spun around, and caught a football inches away from his face.

Both of the sister's jaw's dropped as they watched Stefan throw the ball back and as Tyler caught it, he stumbled backwards, almost tumbling on his ass.

Darcy whooped and high fived Stefan. She peered up at him, "Not only you have a sexy ass and back, but you have a mean hook. Damn Steffy. What can't you do?" She said grinning madly.

"You'll just have to see." Stefan shrugged sending her a wink, just as they heard the bell ring.

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Darcy was once again back in history with Tanner Spanner. Once again listening to him drone, on and on, and on. Doesn't he get tired of listening to his own voice? Darcy sure does and gives her a relentless headache that makes her want to stab herself in the eye with her pen.

"What we got on World War 2? When did it end? Anyone? Ms Jaun? 1945." Tanner said to his history class.

"Pearl Harbour," Tanner said.

Just shut up already dude, no one wants to answer your poxy questions. Darcy rolled her eyes. She heard his footsteps going around the room and pausing beside her desk. She groaned, feeling him tug her hair, lifting her head she glared at his smug face.

"Nothing? Miss Gilbert? Pearl Harbour," Tanner said to Elena.

"Hm? Uh, I don't know." Elena said, embarrassed about being called out.

"December 7th, 1941," Darcy's voice rang out.

"I asked the other Gilbert, not you," Tanner huffed.

"Oh, well, you got your answer now shoo along," Darcy said waving her hand, with a smirk on her face.

"Nope. Seeing as you think you're smart I want you to battle against Stefan," Tanner said smugly. Darcy and Stefan looked at each other and mouthed "Bring it on."

"The fall of the Berlin Wall," Tanner asked Darcy.

"1989. You know you won't beat me on this. History is my jam." Darcy stated.

This seemed to work up Tanner. "Keep it to the year." He challenged the two.

"Civil Rights Act,"

"1964." Stefan shot out.

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963," Darcy said, leaning back crossing her arms.

"Martin Luther King."

"1968," Darcy and Stefan said. They fake glared at each other.

"Lincoln."

"1865," Stefan called out, yawning. Darcy sniggered.

"Roe vs Wade?"

"1973," Darcy said bored.

"Brown vs Board?

"1954," They said together.

"The Battle of Gettysburg?"

"1863," Stefan winked at Darcy, riling her up. She sat up leaning on her desk, raising her plucked eyebrows.

"Korean War?"

"1950 – 1953," Darcy said, wiggling her brows. Stefan nodded, impressed. She knew her stuff.

"Ha! It ended in 52!" Tanner exclaimed happily, although that soon got cut short.

Darcy glanced to Stefan asking the silent question. He shook his head.

"Uh, actually, sir. Darcy is right. It was 53." Stefan said backing up Darcy.

"Look it up. Somebody. Quickly!" Tanner shouted.

Everyone got their phones out searching for the answer, wanting to put Tanner in his place.

"It was...53," A boy in the back replied. Everyone started cheering and clapping Darcy.

"Thank you. Thank you," Darcy said, taking a bow. The bell rang, she bent down, collecting her stuff as Stefan shuffled over.

"How did you know all that?" He asked, his mind buzzing with possibilities.

"Slow your roll Steffy-poo," They exited the classroom, "Before my mum died, I attended a lot of the founding family events, sometimes she'll take me to the council meetings." She shrugged, not making a big deal of things.

"Is that how...you know?" Stefan queried, finally getting a question in on how she knew about his secret.

Darcy hummed, shaking her head, "Yeah and no. We can talk when it's less crowded." She offered. Stefan agreed. They walked out onto the field over to the side where the football players and cheerleaders were warming up.

"You really like football, huh?" Darcy said, observing the way Stefan was watching the players closely.

"Yeah, I do." He said, looking down at her.

"You should try it out. You've got raw talent, and to be honest, we need someone who's got a mean hook. You'd be perfect for the team." She encouraged, giving him a nudge in the side.

"I don't know. I love it, but I don't think football likes me very much." He said, staring down at his shoes.

"Is this about earlier? With Matt and Tyler? If so, don't worry about them. They're just butt hurt someone new and hot is on their turf." Stefan threw his head back, laughing at her lack of filter. "What? It's true. Just because you're dating my sister, doesn't mean I'm not going to hold back on what I think. You're hot, and you know it, so don't deny it. Flaunt it, baby!" She fluttered her arms over his body. They looked at each other and burst out in laughter, clutching their stomach's, tears stream down their cheeks.

I think this is a start to a beautiful friendship; they both thought.

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"You explain it. Last night I was watching 9-0. The commercial break comes on, and I'm like 'I bet it's that phone commercial' and what do you know, it's the guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris he flies back. They take a picture together." Bonnie said while trying to convince Elena. Darcy has her back, and has been an epic support system; she just needs Elena to believe her.

"Oh come on that commercial on a constant loop," Elena said, laughing while trying the Lasagna Darcy had made for tonight's meal. "Mmm, this is good, Darce." She hummed.

"Of course I made it, duh," Darcy said while swaying her hips to the music blasting from her phone.

"Fine. Well, how about this?" Bonnie said also sneaking a bite of food from the dish on the counter, just as she's about the fork to her mouth, Darcy slaps her hand causing it to clank on the kitchen island. "What the hell, Darce?" Bonnie sulked.

"I did not slave my ass off for you both to eat it before the star of the night arrives," Darcy said, planting her hands on her hips, and tapping her foot.

"Naww, Darce, but its soo good," Bonnie said, flashing her puppy dog eyes.

"Nope, my blood sweat and tears went into that. Keep your paws off." Darcy said, spinning on her heel to collect the glasses from the cupboard.

The doorbell rings alerting them of Stefan's presence.

"Okay, he's here," Elena said.

"It's just Stefan, he's nothing special," Darcy said shrugging.

"Birthday candles," Bonnie said as Elena answered the door.

Darcy sent her a confused look as Bonnie opened the draw to see the candles resting on top. Darcy and Bonnie stare at each other in shock. "Don't worry Bon. We'll speak to Grams and get to the bottom of this," Darcy assured giving her friend a tight hug.

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Half an hour later, they were all gathered around the dining table, eating their dinner in awkward silence. Utensils scraping against their plates played as their background.

"So, Sexy-, Stefan how did the practice go?" Darcy asked, trying to break the tense atmosphere.

"Great. Thanks for pushing me by the way and this food is delicious," Stefan boasted.

"Yeah, Darce is the cook of the house; without her, we would all die of food poisoning," Elena said while laughing. Bonnie stayed stone-faced, pushing her food around her plate.

"Bonnie. You should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw the ball and-," Elena said only to get cut off by Bonnie.

"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie mumbled unimpressed, and received a kick to her shin from Darcy. Bonnie kicked back ensuing in a footsie fight. They halted when one of them kicks Stefan causing him to jerk in surprise.

"Oops, my bad Steffy. I was just teaching Bonnie some manners," Darcy said with fake innocence and giving Bonnie one last kick. "Ha! Take that bitch!" Darcy silently cheered and patted herself on the back as Stefan laughed at their antics, successfully breaking the tension. Elena sends her sister a thankful glance, receiving a wink in return.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"Um, divorced-,"

"No, no, about the witches," Elena said, shaking her head.

Stefan gave Darcy a shocked look, she nodded and said "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches,"

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie said shrugging.

"I think it's cool," Stefan said, turning his attention to Bonnie, who snaps her head up, now interested. "I'm not too versed. But I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800s." Stefan explained.

"My family came by way of Salem," Bonnie clarified.

"Really? That's defiantly cool," Stefan said, smiling. Of course, he already knew the lineage of the Bennet witches.

"Really? Why? Bonnie asked, leaning forward, interested to learn more about her background.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity. Stefan said.

That seemed to win Bonnie over as she flashed him a beaming grin.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Darcy shot her sister a look, "Did you invite anyone else?" She asked.

"No. I wonder who that could be." Elena said.

"I'll get it," Darcy offered, walking up to the door seeing two unexpected guests.

"Surprise!" Caroline said as she shoved the cake into Damon's hands, hugging her best friend, "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" Yeah, I wonder why Darcy thought sarcastically glaring at a smug Damon over Caroline's shoulder.

"Dickmon." Darcy greeted, enjoying the brief flash of shock flashing in his icy blue eyes.

"Darcella." Damon saluted, "Lovely to see you again."

"No, it's not. I've seen your face enough to last a lifetime."

"Hope you don't mind us coming along," He said, smirking.

There's something about Dickmon that puts her on alert as if he's a ticking time bomb and could explode at any moment. She's doesn't want to invite him into her home where her family sleep at night. But then Elena comes over with Stefan in-toe. Clearly, Stefan feels the same. They both stand in front of the door blocking his entry. Elena glances between the three confused why they are looking like they're ready for a fight.

Caroline just walked through the door, leaving Damon outside.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked anxiously.

"Waiting for the lovely Darcella to invite me in," Damon replied, with mirth shining in his eyes. Yeah, you can dream on buddy. Darcy thought.

"Oh, you can-," Elena got cut off by Stefan saying, "No, no, he can't."

"He can't stay, can you Damon?" Stefan asked, stepping in front of Elena. The brothers stared at each other until Caroline broke the silence, "Get in here."

"We're just finishing up," Darcy said.

Elena shot her a disapproving look. What's her problem? "It's fine. Just come on in," Elena said, smiling.

Damon just smirked and stepped over the threshold. "You have a beautiful home, Girls," Damon said, turning back to them.

Darcy just huffed turning on her heel to head into the kitchen to make coffee's only for Damon to stick his foot out and trip her over. She spun back around about to lay into him only for Stefan to hold her back and shake his head, "Keep a leash on your brother before I shove a stake up his ass." Darcy gritted out, storming into the kitchen. She smirked when her plan flashed in her mind.

Stretching up into the cupboard, she reaches into the back, pulling out cinnamon, and her secret ingredient, then over to the fridge for the whipped cream. Once gathered, she pours steaming hot water into six mugs, adding a drop of her secret ingredient, cinnamon and cream go into the six coffees. When done she carries them on a tray into the living room, setting them down and takes a seat next to Bonnie.

"I can't believe that Mr Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it," Caroline encouraged.

"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't always just sit there and wait for life to come. You have to go get it." Damon said with Caroline on his lap.

"Yeah, Elena wasn't lucky today. It's because you missed summer camp. I don't know how you're gonna learn," Caroline said, sipping her drink.

"I'll work with her. She'll get it." Bonnie said, sticking up for Elena.

"I guess we can put her in the back," Caroline said to herself but stopped when Darcy shot her a look to shut her mouth.

"You know. You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon said.

"Oh. It's just because her parents died. Yeah, I mean she's totally just going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun. And Darcy, now she has to look after her druggy brother and depressed sister." Caroline said.

"You bitch!" Darcy said leaping up from her about to launch herself when Bonnie and Stefan jump up and hold her back. "I swear Care friend or not, as soon as I get my hands on you, You're gonna get the biggest beating of your life." She said, each word laced with a promise.

"And I say that with complete sensitivity. Caroline said, sending Darcy a pleading look. Darcy sat down, refusing to glance her way.

Damon sat watching the scene with his ever-presence smirk. Scooting Caroline to his side, "I'm sorry, girls. I know what it's like to lose both of your parents. Stefan and I have watched every single person we've ever cared about die," He said, trying to appear sympathetic.

"Oh, boo-hoo you whore. Someone get a violin out. Dickmon over here is sharing his sad story," Darcy said, unable to shut her mouth. Bonnie and Caroline sniggered into their hands, Stefan laughed outrightly, Elena glared, and Damon stared with amusement.

Damon picked up his mug of coffee, still staring at Darcy. She watched with suppressed glee as he sipped. His eyes widen, hands flying to his throat and he choked and spluttered, eyes streaming with water. Stefan figured what was in the drink, put his mug onto the table and jumped up patting his brother's back, glancing back at Darcy his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked.

Caroline coughs to hide her enjoyment.

Bonnie sat unaffected, knowing it's Darcy's doing. She's always playing pranks.

Damon coughed, nodding his head, "Yeah, something in the drink tickled the back of my throat." He glared at Darcy. "What did you put in there? He asked, barely containing his growing anger.

"Oh, erm. Just cinnamon and whipped cream." Darcy said with fake concern. "Are you okay, with those?" She fluttered her eyelashes.

"No, I'm allergic to cinnamon," Damon said still glaring, not buying her shit. He knows she laced the coffee with vervain. How does she know? Where did she get it? Stefan hasn't said anything. He glowers at his brother for missing the important information.

"Shit. I'm so sorry!" Darcy gasped covering her mouth, although her blue eyes shimmer with mirth. "I should have asked. I'll remember next time." She jumps to her feet and turns to Elena, heading towards the stairs, "I'm going to bed, need my beauty sleep an all, maybe you peasants could do with some too." Darcy looks over her shoulder; mischievous blue eyes meet smouldering blue, she blows Damon a kiss and wink.

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