Crimson Whispers

Chapter Eight

While we are talking, I finish my glass off.

Damon: “Hey, I’ll take that to the kitchen for you.”

Skylar: “Thank you, Damon.”

He winks at me as he takes the glass and leaves the room. Now I’m confused. Why would he wink at me? A few minutes later, Bonnie and I go into the kitchen to help Elena. When we enter, we find Damon sitting in front of Elena and the two look like they were having a moment.

Bonnie: “Hey. Need some help?”

Elena lets out a sigh as she smiles at us.

Damon: “Sure, why not?”

Skylar: “I think Caroline is missing you, Damon.”

Damon: “Well, I better not keep her waiting.”

He leaves the kitchen and Elena looks a little relieved.

Skylar: “Are you okay?”

Elena: “Yeah, I don’t know why he makes me uncomfortable when we’re alone.”

Bonnie: “Well, why don’t I help you with the dishes?”

Elena: “Thanks.”

Eventually, Caroline comes in and offers to help clean up, which confuses all three of us.

The next morning, I finish writing in my dream journal and drawing a necklace. I throw on my cheerleading outfit before joining my siblings in the kitchen.

Skylar: “Elena, where’s your cheer uniform?”

Elena: “I decided to quit the team.”

Skylar: “Why?”

Elena: “It just doesn’t feel like me anymore, you know what I mean?”

Skylar: “I think so. If you ever want to start again, I’ll help you catch up when the time comes.”

Elena: “Thanks. So, any weird dreams last night?”

Skylar: “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call it weird, but I dreamt of Jeremy getting into a fight with Tyler.”

Elena: “That happens too often these days. I still can’t believe you ever had a crush on him.”

Skylar: “He was a sweet guy to me when we were kids, but since becoming teenagers, he’s just a jerk now.”

Elena: “Yeah, why did he have to grow up?”

As we get in the car, I remember the necklace I drew this morning.

Skylar: “Oh, I also dreamt about a necklace. It seemed important in the dream, so when I woke up I sketched it if you want to see it later.”

Elena: “I would love to.”

Skylar: “Also, you were in a parking lot with Damon Salvatore.”

Elena: “Okay, now that is weird. I would never do that.”

Skylar: “Yeah, I know he isn’t your type.”

After a long, dull day, I have to go practice with the cheer squad while everyone else is setting up for the pep rally. Caroline left us to go find Elena. I had no idea she didn’t know Elena quit the team.

As it's getting dark, Elena finds me with the biggest smile.

Elena: "Skylar, you'll never guess what Stefan just gave me."

Skylar: "What?"

She holds up a necklace that she is wearing.

Skylar: "Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful. What's that smell? It reminds me of geraniums and something else."

Elena: "Stefan said it's a herb called vervain."

I take another look at it, and it actually looks a lot like the one I sketched this morning. Almost exactly the same. It's gotta be some weird coincidence. I'll compare them later, to be sure.

Skylar: "It's great, Elena. I have to go cheer with the girls now."

We hug before parting ways. The bonfire is going strong, and Mr. Tanner steps up on a box with the football team in front of him while I, along with the other cheerleaders, are standing in front of the crowd to start the pep rally. I love the energy on days like this. Everyone is cheering.

Tanner: "Wait, wait, wait. Wait.[cheering dies down] Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us.[crowd boos] But that is about to change.[crowd cheers] We've got some great new talent starting on offense, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. [crowd cheers louder] Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore.[crowd quiets] He just got here, so to all you fans out there who have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you. We're Timberwolves. We're hungry.[Crowd cheers] And the Central High Lions are what's for dinner!"

The crowd cheers like crazy, and I'm so lost in it, getting pumped up, until the sound of glass breaking fills the air. I turn to see what's going on along with the rest of the crowd. Jeremy and Tyler are fighting while Vicki tries to break them up by yelling for Tyler to stop. Finally, Stefan goes over and separates them. I run over to Jeremy, along with Elena, as he lifts a broken bottle. He swings it through the air, but Stefan gets in the way just before we reach him, pushing Jeremy back.

Elena: "What the hell, Jeremy?"

Skylar: "Jere, are you okay? What happened to you?"

Elena tilts his head back.

Elena: "Put your head up, you're bleeding."

He slaps her hands away.

Jeremy: "I'm fine."

Elena: "Yeah, you smell fine."

Jeremy: "Just stop, okay?"

He storms off, and Elena checks on Stefan. While Matt gets Tyler away from the area.

Elena: "Oh my god, your hand."

He hides his hand from her.

Stefan: "No, no, no, it's fine."

Elena: "Is it deep? How bad is it?[she grabs his hand] Come on. [opens his hand, finding no cut] But I saw it, it was..."

Stefan: "He missed. It's not my blood.[wipes it off on his pants] See, I'm fine."

Elena: "No, no, no, I saw it. The glass cut your hand."

Stefan: "It's okay. I'm okay. It's almost kickoff time, all right? So I'll see you after the game."

Elena and I share a look, finding it very weird as Stefan leaves.

Skylar: "I thought I saw it too, Elena. Maybe we were mistaken in the rush."

Elena: "But I could've sworn he had a huge cut across his palm."

Skylar: "I guess we were both seeing things. I have to get going, though. Just stay safe."

We hug, and I feel so tense right now. There's something very wrong going on, and I have no idea what it is. For now, I have cheerleading to do.

I run over to join the girls, and I stand with Bonnie while Caroline is stressing over every little detail, trying to make everything perfect.

Caroline: “Hey, Tiki, it’s all wobbly. Can you stand straight, please?[Tiki tries to fix herself.] Could someone please help Tiki?”

She just corrects Tiki herself while Bonnie and I share an eye roll. Elena walks up to us.

Bonnie: “Hey, where’ve you been?”

Elena: “Can I ask you a question? And you give me a really serious no-joke response?”

Bonnie: “Of course. What is it?”

Elena: “The bad mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction…”

Bonnie: “You know what, forget I said that. Your little dinner-party plot totally won me over.”

Elena: “No, Bonnie, seriously. What was it? Did you see something, or?”

Bonnie: “[Sighs] It wasn’t clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about…eight, fourteen, twenty-two.”

Elena: “Yeah?”

Bonnie: “When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and…”

Elena: “And what?”

Bonnie: “It was death. It’s what I imagine death to be like.”

The two of them look a little freaked out, so I step in.

Skylar: “Come on, girls. Enough of the dark stuff. We should try to at least enjoy this football game.”

Elena: “Skylar, you’ve been acting weird since I showed you that necklace. Why?”

Skylar: “I’m not sure. I can’t confirm anything until we get home tonight.”

Elena: “Alright, but we will talk about it when we get home.”

Skylar: “Okay.”

Elena walks off, probably to find Jeremy and get seats in the stands.

We are waiting for the crowd to be seated and all the players to be ready when someone starts screaming for help over by the locker rooms. Bonnie and I run with everyone else to see what’s going on. We find the cops trying to keep everyone back while Matt is sitting on a truck looking completely lost. I hear murmurs around the crowd of people asking who it is before I catch a glimpse of the body and realize it is Mr. Tanner. There’s a cop talking to Matt as paramedics put Mr. Tanner in a bodybag and take him away in the ambulance. I guess Matt found him.

Bonnie starts to hyperventilate a bit so I grab her shoulders and make her look into my eyes as she starts crying.

Skylar: “Bonnie, look at me. Calm down. Everything is going to be alright. Just breathe. Breathe with me.”

She nods and tries to do as I say. Once she starts calming down, she hugs me, thanking me for helping before she leaves. I find Jeremy and Elena waiting on opposite sides of the car. We are all silent the whole ride home.

I borrow Elena’s necklace and take it to my room, comparing it to the sketch I did this morning. They don’t just look alike, they are the exact same in every little detail. This is incredibly spooky and I really don’t want anything to do with it.