A/N this has been sitting on my computer for a little bit and I thought 'why not post it.' I'll be updating sporadically unless it gets widely well received. Let me know what you think :)
Rach
xoxo
Chapter one: First Days and Comets
"Earth to Jeremy. How stoned are you, what are you looking at?" Vicki called, turning her head in the direction Jeremy stared. When she saw the younger Forbes using one of the tables to stretch out like the prima donna ballerina she was, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Charlotte Forbes, why am I not surprised," Vicki muttered under her breath, finally getting Jeremy to break out of his stupor. True, she was only meeting him for drugs, but she'd gotten used to his undivided attention during the summer. A sting of annoyance ran through her at the reminder that she was just a phase to him and every other boy at school.
"You got anything good today?" Vicki asked once Jeremy's attention was on her. All she wanted to do was get the drugs and go.
"Don't take more than two in a six hour window," Jeremy instructed as he handed over tablets from a prescription bottle. That's what the bottle had said, so he figured there was a good reason.
With a defiant arch of her eyebrows, Vicki tossed three tablets into her mouth and swallowed. Even after a summer of experimentation, Jeremy still didn't have the whole drug user thing down. Abusing them and taking pills more often than you should was a big part of it.
"Vicki, I knew I'd find you here with the crackheads," Tyler called out, ruining Jeremy's buzz. Looking for a distraction, he turned his head back towards the table Charlotte had been at. But the table was empty. She'd already headed into the school.
…
Placing her earbuds in, Charlotte let the peaceful sounds of Stravinsky drown out the hallway chatter. The earbuds were to prevent anyone from approaching her, the music was to prepare her for dance rehearsal later that afternoon. As she unloaded her books into her locker, Charlotte reflexively rose up on pointe so she could reach her top shelf. She really hoped she wasn't done growing just yet, because at 5'2" she was the shortest in her freshman class. Charlotte didn't really relish spending the rest of her life shorter than most middle schoolers.
"Hey!" Caroline's screech broke through the violins singing in Charlotte's ear just before her earbuds were yanked out. "It's your first day of high school, stop being antisocial."
"And who would you recommend I socialize with?" Charlotte asked, glancing around pointedly. All the students around them were already grouped up into cliques. Charlotte might have been in one of them if she hadn't lost herself in dance over the summer. While most of her classmates spent the summer by the lake, Charlotte was in the studio practicing her plie and pirouette.
"What about Jeremy?" Caroline countered as the youngest Gilbert came storming out of the men's bathroom.
"You can't be serious," Charlotte countered, though she knew her sister to suggest crazier things.
"You guys used to be so close. Remember the summer you guys made a tent in a tree in his backyard and called it your secret club house?"
Charlotte did remember. It was hard to forget when most of her childhood memories had Jeremy plastered all over them. They'd been inseparable. But things changed. He'd turned into a moody ass. At first, she let it slide, giving him the space he wanted after his parents died. When it didn't dissipate any throughout the summer she took it as a sign their long standing friendship was over.
"Care, he hasn't spoken to me since…since the accident. Whenever I reached out, he just pushed me away. He made it perfectly clear he doesn't want my friendship anymore." Charlotte insisted, slamming her locker door shut.
"That doesn't mean you have to shut yourself off to all friends. Besides, Elena says she's doing much better. Maybe he is too," Caroline suggested as the bell rang. Their conversation ended as they parted ways and headed to class. Hopefully Caroline would find some other person-project to focus on between then and lunch.
...
Charlotte slid into the back bench in the chemistry lab five minutes before class started. Once again she slipped her earbuds in, opening her notebook and doodling randomly. She shaded in some musical notes to the piece she listened to when the bell rang shrilly. Wrapping the cord around her iPod and stuffing it in the front pocket of her bag, Charlotte turned her attention towards the board where the chemical equation for Glucose was written. Copying down the formula next to the beginning of Stravinsky's Infernal Dance, Charlotte's pen jerked when the classroom door slammed shut.
"Nice of you to join us Mr. Gilbert. Take a seat, and expect to stay after to speak with me," Mr. Howard droned out before turning his attention back to the board.
Charlotte's posture stiffened as Jeremy slid onto the stool beside her. She hadn't realized she was the only one who had an empty stool at their lab table. Charlotte wished she could use her headphones and a symphony as a shield, but she highly doubted Mr. Howard would appreciate that. Her palms started sweating when she thought about having to sit in awkward silence beside Jeremy all year. After the way their last conversation went four months ago, Charlotte certainly wasn't going to be the one to break the silence unless her grade depended on it. She really hoped her grade wouldn't depend upon it.
"Alright class, no homework today. And pay attention to the seats you choose tomorrow as they will be the ones you keep throughout the semester," Mr. Howard called out over the bell. Thank god. There was still a chance Charlotte could end up partnered with someone else.
Hefting her bag over her shoulder, Charlotte accidently let her eyes glance towards Jeremy. When their eyes met, his mouth opened as though he were about to say something. Before he could, Mr. Howard called him to the front of the class for their predetermined meeting. Using the distraction, Charlotte slipped out the door and onto her next class.
Lunch hour was spent holed up in the music classroom. Slipping on her worn pointe shoes and plugging in her phone to a speaker, Charlotte let the music take over as she danced. The orchestra had a calming effect on her, slowly letting her let go of the anxiety of her first day, which was only halfway over. So caught up in the music, she hadn't realized how long she'd been dancing until the warning bell rang, ending lunch.
Scrambling to get her stuff together, Charlotte rushed towards her locker to change out her books only to find Tyler Lockwood and Vicki Donovan locking lips in front of it. Technically it was only half in front of her locker, the other half of their bodies were blocking Billy Fisher's locker. But the point was, she couldn't get in her locker unless they moved a foot to the left.
"Excuse me, but could you swap spit a little more to the left?" Charlotte asked, her voice lacking the confidence that they'd actually listen to her. Tyler was the one who responded first, glancing at her with his trademark jerk smirk before moving just enough to the left that she could reach her combination lock.
"Nice shoes," Vicki sneered, making Charlotte blush as she glanced down to her battered pointe shoes. She hadn't taken the time to change out of them when she was frazzled by the bell. They came in handy though, as she was easily able to reach the shelf in her locker by rising up on her toes.
"Thanks," Charlotte murmured with a small smile before shutting her locker and making her way down the hall to her class. She wouldn't let Vicki Donovan get to her. Charlotte had more class than to stoop to her level. No matter how many times she called her bunhead or prima donna behind her back. Caroline always said, the best comeback is smiling and acting like words didn't matter.
"Don't be too mean to mini Forbes. She might be all pink ribbons and innocence, but Caroline has a dark side you don't want unleashed on you," Tyler warned with a swift kiss on Vicki's cheek to ease the blow of him defending the younger Forbes sister. For some reason, Vicki resented her even more than head cheerleader, president of the dance committee, Caroline Forbes.
"You would defend her. Founding families gotta stick together, huh?" Vicki grumbled, pushing past Tyler and heading for the school parking lot. She couldn't handle being around the perfect, goody two shoes that consisted of the founding families any longer.
Tyler let her go with a sigh, not understanding the grudge Vicki had against the Forbes sisters. The only founding families' descendants she could stand seemed to be the males, primarily him and Gilbert. In fact, most of Vickie's friends were male. She tended to become a bitch when she was around other girls. Perhaps she was jealous. The Forbes sisters were blessed with beauty. Caroline had the confident, bubbly blonde bit down pat, and Charlotte had the whole shy, sensitive, flexible dancer thing going for her.
…
"So, did you see the new guy today?" Caroline asked as Charlotte slid into the passenger seat of her Honda.
"There's a new guy?" Charlotte retorted as she clicked her seatbelt into place. Having spent most of the day plugged into her iPod and avoiding social interaction with her peers, she hadn't realized the addition to the student body. Although she was relieved at the prospect that the conversation of her limited social life outside of the dance studio might be overshadowed by the gossip a new student always created. Caroline was the queen of gossip.
"Yes, Char, there is. And he is smoking hot. I think I found my soulmate." Charlotte smiled at her sister's giddiness.
"Well, I look forward to meeting him at the wedding," Charlotte played along with Caroline's little fantasy. Sometimes it was fun to see where all her fantasies would go.
"I'm thinking it'll be early June, when all the flowers are in bloom," Caroline sighed, adjusting the rear view mirror so she could fix her hair before pulling out of the school parking lot.
"I hope you mean early June about five years from now. Because mom will never sign a consent to marry you off as a minor," Charlotte's comment had Caroline wrinkling her nose. Thinking of their mom ruined the fantasy she'd created in her mind. "Oh, take a right. I have dance rehearsal today," Charlotte added as they came to a stop sign in the middle of town.
"That's not until four," Caroline protested as she turned her right blinker on. "And you spent the whole summer at that prodigy dance camp."
"It was a summer ballet program," Charlotte corrected. "And I just want a little extra practice. The studio is free now anyways." Charlotte always preferred to have the studio to herself. There weren't many ballet students in Mystic Falls, and so Madame Kornrich always placed all the age groups together during rehearsal. Getting there early let Charlotte dance in peace for an hour.
"You didn't get enough at lunch?" Caroline challenged, sending Charlotte a judging look as she pulled to a stop outside the studio. "You can't hide away in the music room your whole four years. You need to talk with people," Caroline added, shouting the last bit through the open window as Charlotte made her way to the studio doors. Caroline could understand Charlotte being passionate about ballet, she was the same way when it came to cheerleading. Still, Caroline managed to have a life outside of it. It was time her baby sister start balancing her social life with her dance life. And Caroline knew the perfect way for her sister to start off the new school year right.
...
"I can't believe you're dragging me along with you," Charlotte murmured as they parked in a field filled with half the school's cars. "What am I supposed to do here?"
"Have fun, make friends, find a cute guy and make out. The options are endless," Caroline retorted with a huge smile as she dragged Charlotte by the hand towards the falls. She could already hear the music before she could see the picnic area where most of Mystic Falls High's student body congregated.
It didn't take long for Caroline to abandon her. She spotted her future husband and whisked off without a word, leaving Charlotte standing awkwardly by the bonfire. Caroline had helped her get ready for the evening, which meant she was even more uncomfortable. Wearing jean shorts and an off the shoulder top with her hair down and curled instead of up in its normal bun had Charlotte defaulting to third position as she nervously rose up into pointe and back down in her sneakers. Caroline had wanted her to wear sandals, but Charlotte refused. After dance rehearsal, her toes looked nasty to put it lightly. Band aids covered the blistered and cut skin, and the areas the band aids didn't cover were usually bruised.
Looking around at the crowd, it seemed everyone had broken off into mini groups: jocks, scholastic kids, band kids. Her eyes fell on Jeremy, sitting with the stoners by the keg and holding a bottle of beer. There was a time when it was him and her. When they needed someone to hang out with at social gatherings, they'd have each other. Now he hung with the druggie crowd, and Charlotte was left alone to wonder how long she needed to stay to satisfy Caroline's desire for her to socialize.
When Jeremy's eyes met hers, catching her staring, Charlotte quickly looked away, her cheeks burning and her feet falling down from the pointe she'd been holding. She was about to bail when something strange happened. Someone approached her.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Billy Fisher, the only freshman to make varsity lacrosse, and her locker neighbor for the year, greeted her as he came to a standstill before her. At least he blocked her view of Jeremy. "You weren't at any of the lake parties this summer."
"I was at a ballet program all summer. Besides I tend to avoid large gatherings with the opportunity to embarrass myself," Charlotte responded with a shrug. "Shouldn't you be with the jocks?" She added, before realizing how rude that sounded. To her surprise, Billy only chuckled, running a hand through his short caramel hair.
"Shouldn't you be with Gilbert? You two have been attached at the hip since first grade," Billy countered, turning to the side to look back at Jeremy. Following his gaze, Charlotte found Jeremy staring in their direction, taking a swig from the bottle he held.
"Things change. People grow apart," Charlotte murmured, ducking her head as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"So, you're in the market for a new loyal liege. Allow me to offer my services," Billy smiled, bowing slightly and causing Charlotte to giggle. "Would you care for me to escort you to the refreshment area?"
"I don't drink," Charlotte admitted, sensing that her enlightenment would have Billy abandoning her for someone not as lame. She couldn't decide how she felt about that. Talking with Billy was better than spending the whole night alone.
"You're at a party where the goal is to get as drunk as possible, and you don't drink?" Billy asked, his eyebrows raising as a smile pulled at his lips.
"I know, I'm lame. I wouldn't even be here if Caroline hadn't forced me to come," Charlotte sighed, rising up on pointe again.
"I'm glad she did," Billy answered honestly, his gaze locked on Charlotte's. His words had her falling swiftly back on her heals, uncertain of how to respond. Was Billy Fisher flirting with her? Back up into pointe it was.
Before she could think of a response to Billy's possible flirting, Jeremy sulked past them with a sullen look on his face. Elena chased after him, shouting his name. Eyebrows pulling together, Charlotte couldn't help but wonder what that was about, before remembering it didn't matter. Jeremy had shut her out, it wasn't her place to worry about him anymore.
"You look nice, by the way," Billy murmured, pulling Charlotte's attention back to him. "I like your hair down."
As if on cue, the wind picked up, blowing Charlotte's hair into her face. One of the many reasons she didn't wear her hair down often. Long hair tended to get stuck in zippers, fall into food and drinks, and get stuck in your face. Turning her body slightly so the wind blew her hair behind her, Charlotte let out a huff.
"I'm glad someone noticed the change. Caroline will be thrilled her hard work didn't go to waste," She muttered, wiping at a single strand that was stuck to her lip gloss. Once again Billy chuckled, but Charlotte was pretty sure he was laughing at her sarcasm and not at her.
Billy was miraculously still talking with her when Jeremy and Elena returned. They were both shouting for help while Jeremy carried an unconscious Vicki Donovan in his arms. Everything seemed to happen rather quickly after that. Someone called 911, causing most of the kids to bail before the cops showed up. Charlotte expected Billy to be one of them, but he stayed with her instead.
"Hey Char, we're headed to the grill to pump coffee in your sister to try and sober her up. Your mom will kill her if she sees her like this," Bonnie approached her after Vicki had been taken away by the ambulance. "You coming?" She added, as she eyed up Billy beside her.
"My brother and I could give you a ride home, if you want," Billy offered when Charlotte followed Bonnie's gaze, glancing up at him.
"Thanks, but I should go with my sister. It was…interesting talking with you," Charlotte replied, finally finding a word for their encounter.
"I'll see you in school then, Charlotte Forbes," Billy gave another small bow, making Charlotte giggle at his silliness.
"Somebody's got an admirer," Bonnie teased, as they made their way to the picnic table Caroline was slouched at.
"You think?" Charlotte asked, glancing behind her to find Billy watching her. It had her whipping her head back to Bonnie. "Please don't tell Caroline."
Bonnie laughed at Charlotte's request, knowing just how Caroline would react to the possibility of a boy being interested in Char. She'd be hyper excited and super nosy. As fun as it would be to watch, she'd never do that to Charlotte.
Jeremy's eyes flicked between Billy Fisher and Charlotte. The former watched her intently as she left, causing Jeremy to take another swig from his bottle, wishing he had something a little stronger. He'd never had anything against Billy, but that didn't mean he deserved Charlotte. Charlotte was too good for Billy. What kind of sleazebag swooped in on a girl and made the first move at a kegger? Because that's exactly what Billy had done earlier. When he managed to make Charlotte laugh, Jeremy couldn't watch anymore. He'd taken off for the woods, Elena following after him.
…
"Which one of us is gonna play therapist to drunk Caroline tonight?" Bonnie asked as they entered the grill and Caroline made a beeline for a table.
"Rock, paper scissors?" Charlotte suggested, not really feeling energized enough to deal with a sulky Caroline. As surprising as it was, Caroline wasn't always a happy drunk, even though she was a perky ball of sunshine while sober.
"Alright. Grams says I'm psychic, let's put my seeing the future powers to the test," Bonnie agreed, holding out her hand. "So much for being psychic," she grumbled after losing two rounds in a row to Charlotte.
With a sigh, Bonnie joined Caroline at the table while Charlotte followed, laying her head on the table beside her sister as she waited for the coffee to kick in. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until Caroline shook her awake so she could discreetly check out the hot guy two tables over. Sitting up bleary eyed, Charlotte turned her face towards the table, meeting the blue eyed gaze of Caroline's newest prey. She'd heard enough of her and Bonnie's conversation to know Stefan didn't return the affections.
"I said discretely," Caroline hissed, causing Charlotte to shrug. She couldn't do discrete when she was half awake.
"Does this mean you're sober enough to go home?" Charlotte yawned, her shoulders slumping from their normal dancer's posture. At Caroline's affirmative, Charlotte trudged behind her sister to meet Bonnie at the car. At least she'd get to collapse in her own bed soon.
…
"Caroline, get up. We're going to be late," Charlotte announced, tossing a pillow at her sister's head. At the unexpected attack, Caroline jolted up in bed, looking far more alert than she had a moment ago.
"How can you look so put together after last night?" Caroline grumbled, taking in Charlotte's appearance. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a perfect bun, her face looked fresh and awake, and she looked decidedly cute in a long sleeved white lace top that just met the waist of the mini skirt dotted with light pink roses that Caroline had picked out for her during their back to school shopping.
"I didn't drink my weight in beer," Charlotte responded with a smile before gliding out of the room and to the kitchen. Seriously, that's how graceful her little sister was, Charlotte didn't walk, she glided.
"So, what's the deal? You trying to impress somebody, because you didn't dress up this much on the first day of school," Caroline commented when she joined her sister in the kitchen. She'd spent the twenty minutes she had before they needed to leave making herself look as good as she could while slightly hungover.
"It's really rather sexist of you to think I'd only dress up for a guy," Charlotte retorted trying to brush off the accusation. She had felt a little giddy that morning when she remembered her conversation with Billy last night, and that good mood had spurred her to wear something a little more flirty, but that by no means meant she was dressing up for Billy Fisher.
"I never mentioned a guy, I just asked if you were trying to impress someone. You're the one who assumed I meant a guy. Which means there is a guy. So spill," Caroline squealed, grabbing hold of Charlotte's arm.
"Seriously Care, I just wanted to wear a skirt today. I'm too focused on dance anyways to bother with boys right now. Now can we please just go to school," Charlotte threw back, making a beeline for the front door. There were no promises Billy would ever talk to her again more than an awkward hello if they happened to be at their lockers at the same time. No need to bring miss matchmaker into the mix and force something out of nothing.
Unfortunately, because of Caroline hitting the snooze button one too many times, Charlotte ended up being late for Chemistry. Even worse, the only free lab table was in the back left corner, next to Jeremy. This semester was sure to be awkward at best. At least, since their small class already knew one another fairly well, Mr. Howard skipped the whole 'getting to know your lab partner' assignment and jumped right into the basis for their semester long project. For the last few minutes of the class, they were supposed to practice how to properly light the Bunsen burners without blowing up the lab.
"Come on you piece of crap, light," Charlotte murmured as she tried to get the spark lighter to emit the sparks it was supposed to create.
"You're pressing down too hard, the friction from the parallel movement is supposed to cause the spark," Jeremy murmured from beside her, reaching over her and pushing the clamp of the lighter down. Sparks immediately sprang from the metal and caused Charlotte to jump. Well, in truth it was mostly Jeremy actually talking to her and his hand as it brushed against hers that made her jump. She wasn't used to either anymore.
"See, it's no different than a regular lighter," Jeremy shrugged, pulling his hand away, but keeping his eyes on Charlotte. "Guess being a stoner counts for something, huh?" He joked, not knowing what else to say to avoid the silence between them. Talking with Charlotte never used to be a problem until he shut her out for four months.
"Well I don't smoke so I haven't exactly used any kind of lighter," Charlotte huffed, feeling stupid for not knowing how to make the lighter work when Jeremy had no problems with it. "I'm sorry, that was rude," Charlotte murmured, taking a cleansing breath in through her nose to push back her frustration.
"You don't have to apologize to me Lottie. I'm well accustomed to your defensive side when you feel dumb. Which, you're not," Jeremy reassured her. The familiar nickname brought back memories of lounging on the Gilbert's couch watching movies together, when Jeremy would always cover her eyes during gruesome parts or, as a joke, during kissing scenes. Charlotte only had time to send Jeremy an inquisitive stare before class ended.
When the bell rang, it was Charlotte's turn to stay after and talk with Mr. Howard. Jeremy contemplated waiting at his locker, on the other side of Charlotte's, and taking another whack at talking with her, at mending their friendship. When his parent's died, he thought pushing Charlotte away would help him come to terms with his parent's death. He had wanted to be alone, away from the sympathy everyone gave him when it happened. Seeing her again made him realize how much he missed her friendship.
However, when he noticed Billy Fisher leaning against his locker after he'd collected his books, Jeremy slammed his locker shut and started towards the school exit. Glancing behind him before he reached the doors, he saw Billy straighten up when Charlotte stopped at her locker before striking up a conversation. Letting his face fall into a familiar scowl, Jeremy burst through the doors leading towards the baseball fields. He needed something to take the edge off his anger. He would have tried to score some weed had he not found a better outlet for it: Tyler Lockwood. The Dick hadn't even visited Vicki after the attack, and she was supposed to be his girlfriend.
Charlotte tried to pay attention to Billy as he talked. But the truth was, she couldn't stop thinking about Jeremy calling her by her old nickname. Did it mean he was finally going to open up to her again? That she might actually get her best friend back? Or was he just being nice? Realizing Billy had asked her a question, Charlotte forced her attention back on the conversation.
"Of course," she replied, hoping her answer made sense. It must have because Billy smiled widely, claiming he'd look for her at the comet celebrations.
…
"You have a date!" Caroline squealed, after finding out Billy would be looking for Charlotte to watch the comet with.
"It's not a date, he just wanted to meet up at some point," Charlotte insisted, her stomach churning at the thought of it being a date. She wasn't sure she was ready for dating.
"It's totally a date. I'm doing your hair tonight!" Caroline insisted, clapping her hands excitedly. Since her love life was nonexistent, she'd have to live vicariously through Charlotte. Charlotte didn't mind too much. After Billy's compliment, she was a little happy Caroline agreed to curl her hair again. It was worth it to, with the way Billy looked at her when they finally did meet up at the comet celebrations.
"You look, incredible," Billy murmured, taking in Charlotte's loose hair and pink sundress. Pastel pink really was her color. "I got you a candle," He added, handing her one of the two he held. Neither were lit, and when she looked around for someone with a lit candle to help light her own, Jeremy appeared.
"I've got ya Lottie," he murmured, pulling a lighter out of his pocket to light her candle.
"I didn't think you liked town celebrations," Charlotte mused, watching him slip the device back in his pocket. She'd always had to force him to any social gatherings.
"I wanted to see what the fuss was all about," Jeremy responded with a wink. The playful light in his eyes died when Billy stepped up, pressing his candle to Charlottes so it'd light all while keeping eye contact with Jeremy.
"Oh, Jer, you know Billy Fisher, right?" Charlotte asked, more to be polite and break the tense silence than anything else. They'd all gone to school together since elementary school. Of course they knew each other.
"Yeah. The guy who never gave us the time of day all through middle school," Jeremy responded with a tight smile, making it clear to Billy he didn't trust him or his intentions towards Charlotte.
"And you're the guy who threw away ten years of friendship like it was nothing," Billy responded, playing at Jeremy's game. He didn't know much about what went down between Charlotte and Jeremy since last spring, but he'd had his eyes on Charlotte long enough to know it was Jeremy's doing.
"Oh look, popcorn," Charlotte interrupted the awkwardly tense silence before starting towards the cart. She'd never been one for confrontation. Case in point being she hadn't tried to talk to Jeremy after she called him from the ballet program during the summer and he yelled at her to give him space.
"One bag, please," Charlotte asked, reaching in her purse for her wallet just as someone behind her placed money on the counter.
"Make it two," Billy insisted, smiling apologetically when Charlotte turned towards him. "I'm sorry for starting tonight off on a bad note."
"Don't be," Charlotte waved off his apology. "I don't know why Jeremy was so rude. Although maybe that's how he is now. I wouldn't know."
"He does seem to pick more fights than he used to. But maybe that's just the drugs."
"Or his way of coping with the loss of his parents," Charlotte countered, automatically coming to Jeremy's defense. The Jeremy she knew wasn't a bad guy, and she had a hard time believing he'd really changed all that much.
"Perhaps. But I don't want to talk about Jeremy. I asked you here because I want to know more about you," Billy said as they found a seat on a bench in the center of town. His words had Charlotte smiling down at her popcorn.