don't let me go

Tyler blinked when he felt Ariah nudge him and he watched her for a little while before he offered a small smile. It was nice to not feel secluded in the group. Even if the others were a little focused on learning about the new kid, it seemed like Ariah was actively trying to include him in her own ways. And, considering he hadn’t ever really been a part of the group before, he was relieved. Liza caught her sister’s look and she watched her for a few long moments, though she nodded gently because she understood the look - or, at least, she had a slight understanding, anyways. They couldn’t read each other’s minds, but Liza and Ariah had always been good at just understanding each other without too much of a problem.

Liza’s expression softened, though, when Stefan mentioned his parents. She wasn’t really sure what it meant, but she assumed it wasn’t good either way it went. Any form of losing parents - either by them dying or abandoning their kids or their kids being taken away - was bad and upsetting. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she agreed carefully with her sister, nodding gently as she watched Stefan. “Mystic Falls is a small town, so it wouldn’t be hard to find us if you tried.” She offered a small smile before turning her gaze to her food. “Though, really, any of us can usually be found at The Grill. It’s basically the after-school hangout for… Well, everybody.”

Caroline made a face to Ariah’s words, but shrugged it off as she looked to Stefan. “Oh, come on. He’s the hot, new guy. We deserve a little information,” she chimed as she offered a small grin to Stefan, arching a brow. “You don’t really mind the questions, right? I mean, you’re welcome to ask questions of your own, too. It’s only fair. We don’t know you, you don’t know us. This is a chance for us to all bond before we have to go back to class.”

Tyler hadn’t really been expecting Stefan to agree to try out for football. He watched him for a moment before he peered over to Matt, arching a brow. If Stefan was going to try out for football, Tyler definitely wasn’t going to make it easy on him. “Right, well…” he shrugged and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as he stared at Stefan. “Try not to cry if things don’t go your way. We’re a tough team.” He grinned, as if it was a joke and as if he was just teasing Stefan, but he was serious about it. The team was tough, but Tyler would make sure that, tomorrow, they wouldn’t just be tough. They’d be rough, too.

Stefan shook his head, “No need to be sorry. It all happened a while ago now,” He explained as he didn’t want anyone to think he was still hurting over his parent’s death, because he wasn’t as he has had a long time to deal with it. His mother’s death hit him the hardest, but he dealt with that when he had been human. And, his father had never cared much about him or Damon, so Stefan never really cared for the man he had to call father. “I’ll keep that in mind, check The Grill first.” He looked at Liza and smiled at her, she really was completely different than what Katherine was. For some strange reason, she just looked exactly like Katherine. She didn’t look similar or alike Katherine, she was an exact copy of how Katherine looked.

Ariah looked her eyes at Caroline, this was typical Caroline. The poor guy had just started his first day at a new school and was now being bombarded with questions, from people he didn’t even know. Ariah continued to eat her lunch as she listened to Tyler, she looked at him when he told Stefan that the football were tough. She hoped the team weren’t too rough with Stefan as that wouldn’t be nice, although she wouldn’t really put it past the team to rough the new guy up just a little bit. “Shouldn’t you be tough against another team? Not someone who is trying out for the team you’re on?” She looked at Tyler as she hoped he would be nice on the field, she knew that he didn’t tend to make friends easily. He had a temper on him and someone that could get the better of Tyler, she just didn’t want anyone getting hurt on the field when it was only try outs.

“Who did you stay with before moving here?” Bonnie asked knowing that Stefan was by law too young to live on his own, not without having a guardian taking care of him. She finished off her lunch knowing the bell would ring soon enough and they would be called back to class, she was curious about Stefan. It wasn’t often that people moved to Mystic Falls, especially not teenage boys who seemed to be mostly on their own. The whole situation felt a little strange to Bonnie, she wanted to give Stefan some space, but she also wanted to know more about him. Especially considering how interested he seemed to be in Liza, she would protect her friends and she’d do anything for them. No matter what it involved, her friends were family to her.

Stefan looked over at Bonnie and decided to be honest with his answer, the less he had to lie the better it would be for him in the long run. “I have an older brother, I had lived with him for the past few years. Until we had a falling out and I decided to move here, I never got to see my Uncle Zach much and Mystic Falls seemed like a nice quiet place to live.” He spoke hoping that would put Bonnie at ease somewhat, “So, besides The Grill, what else do you guys do for fun?” He asked as he thought that would be something he should ask, make it seem like he was new to the small town.

Liza watched him for a few moments, wondering how long ago it had happened. While her parents had only died recently, she really couldn't imagine ever being able to deal with it or coping with it. She felt like there'd always be a hole in her life - and her sister's and brother's and Aunt Jenna's - where her parents once were, a hole they once filled and, without them, she wasn't sure it'd be easy to recover from it. Stefan made it seem like it was possible to recover from it, if he'd lost his parents but was okay now, and Liza couldn't imagine that being possible. "Yeah, the Grill first," she confirmed, offering a small smile anyways.

"If we're not tough on those who want to be on the team, then our team won't be tough," Tyler offered up in response, because it was as good an excuse as any. Besides, it was also true. They had to be tough and they had to be good at the game. Otherwise, there wasn't much of a point to be on the team or for the team to exist. If they weren't tough, if they weren't good at playing football, their team would lose and they couldn't afford that. Besides, Tyler loved football and he wanted to win. He was sure that it was a valid desire for the team to be tough on somebody who was trying out. "We're planning to win as many games as possible this year. We can't do that if the team sucks."

Liza blinked as Stefan spoke about living with his older brother, though, and her gaze went to her sister. She couldn't imagine having a falling out with Ariah. And, really, as rebellious as Jeremy was right now, she couldn't imagine having a falling out with him, either. "I'm sorry. That can't be easy. I can't imagine having problems with either of my siblings." Tyler snorted with amusement with the mention of it. "Yeah, that's because you guys are crazy close," he pointed out, shaking his head slightly before he looked to Ariah. "I mean, I rarely see the two of you apart. At school or after school." Even if he hadn't really talked to them much before now, he'd at least noticed that much.

"Well," Caroline chimed, grinning at Stefan as she tilted her head, observing him for a moment. "I'm more curious about whether your older brother is as attractive as you are." She watched him for a few moments before shrugging slightly. "We have parties, bonfires. There are plenty of school dances and then there are all the events Mystic Falls throws - especially the Founders events." She nodded once. "Really, there's a ton of different things to keep everybody pretty busy."

Ariah looked at Tyler and understood what he meant about the football team being tough on other teams and each other, “I know that. But being too tough on new guys, could also turn them away and then you could end up with no team.” She looked at him as he just didn’t want the team, mainly Tyler, to be too rough on Stefan and then get the poor guy hurt. She has seen the tackles that happen on the field, and she would hate to think about the pain and bruises that the guys received after a game.

Stefan looked to Liza and gave her a small smile, “You don’t have to be sorry. Over the past couple of years, we haven’t seen eye to eye and started to grow a distant from each other.” He spoke trying to make Liza see that he was fine with not having Damon in his life, he’d always love his brother and he’d do whatever it took to keep his safe. But he could do those two things from afar, which is what he was planning to do. His eyes moved over to Ariah as he listened to what Tyler said about the sisters, “That’s good though. It’s refreshing to see such a close family,” He moved his attention back onto Liza, he was glad she had a supportive family as that isn’t what he grew up with.

Ariah looked over at her sister, she couldn’t imagine not seeing Liza or Jeremy every day. Not spending time with them, talking with them, caring for them. “It’s a little different with us, though.” They were twins, and she had always been close to Jeremy. Apparently, she had been the one who was the most excited when Jeremy was born, at least that is what their parents had told them. Ariah also felt like they had all grown closer after the accident, even if Jeremy was pulling into his self and using drugs to cope. They were still there for each other, and they all knew that. “Besides, who else would put up with them.” She joked as she smiled at Liza, she honestly wouldn’t change anything about her family. Of course, she’d bring her parents back, but other than that she wouldn’t change a thing.

Stefan couldn’t help but chuckle at Caroline’s question, he wouldn’t say that his older brother was attractive, but he supposed to many women he was. As he has gone through his fair share of women over the decades, so has Stefan although that time is a time he never liked to think about or relive. “I guess he is attractive to some people,” He answered Caroline question, even though she would never actually know because he couldn’t see his brother coming back to Mystic Falls any time soon. He nodded his head lightly, “Yes. Zach told me about the events the Founding families attend, but honestly the parties and bonfires say better to me.” Stefan wasn’t looking forward to the next event the town held, he had gone to a few decades ago as he never thought he’d ever come back. Now he prayed that no one found the black and white pictures of them, that had been taken.

“Well, if it can’t take being on a rough and tough team, then maybe football just isn’t for him,” Tyler said easily, offering a small shrug, because it wasn’t like they really needed this guy on the team. They had a full team as it was and, while they weren’t the best, they still did well enough. And at least he and Matt were good at the game and they worked well together. A new addition might throw off their rhythm. More than that, he didn’t want his best friend upset if this guy happened to have his eyes on Matt’s ex-girlfriend, especially if they all had to work together to do well on the team. “That aside, I guess there’s really only one way to see whether he suits the sport or if the sport suits him.”

Liza listened to Stefan quietly, though she still wondered how it was possible to just not speak to one’s siblings. She couldn’t imagine her life without Ariah or Jeremy. It was bad enough that they’d lost their parents, but if she lost her brother and sister, too, she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to survive it - even if the only problem was that they weren’t on speaking terms. “Still,” she mentioned carefully, eyeing him for a moment, “It can’t be easy.” At least, she doubted it could be easy. Siblings were all some people had - and some people had absolutely nothing. She smiled slightly, though, when she heard Ariah’s words, and she offered a small shrug in response. “Good thing we have you.”

Caroline nodded upon hearing Stefan explaining about his brother. “So, any chance your brother will visit Mystic Falls for holidays or something?” she asked with curiosity, tilting her head slightly. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll love the parties and bonfires. And, even the Founders celebrations are fun, in their own way.”

“She says that because she’s obsessed with everything that has to do with the founding families,” Tyler supplied almost casually as he shrugged. “She gets a little crazy. When all of that comes around, feel free to ignore her. I know I do.” Of course, he had to be just as involved, since his dad was mayor and his parents were obsessed with all of this, too. Liza lifted her shoulders in a small shrug as she looked towards Stefan. “They’re not really all that bad,” she assured after a moment, “I mean… They’re not my favorite things, but at least they give us something extra to do, I guess.”

Stefan shrugged his shoulders lightly, not speaking to Damon really wasn’t all that bad. He couldn’t possibly tell that to Liza and her friends though, besides he had many years to come to terms with not speaking or seeing his old brother. And it still is what’s best for the both of them, nothing good comes from them being together. “It was difficult to begin with, but at the time it was what needed to happen.” He explained hoping that would be enough for now, maybe he would tell Liza more but for right now that was all she needed to know.

Ariah smiled at her sister, “You are pretty lucky.” She teased lightly before her eyes moved over to Caroline, she listened to what the blonde said before her eyes then moved onto Stefan. “I’m not expecting him to arrive any time soon,” He still spoke calmly as he hadn’t seen his brother in… he wasn’t even sure how long it had been now, which is why he wasn’t expecting Damon to just turn up in Mystic Falls after not stepping foot in this town for over a decade.

They all knew that Caroline could get a little overboard when a Founder’s event was planned, she was always involved in each event and tended to drag everyone else in with her. Not that Ariah could ever escape the Founder’s events, she was always expected to be involved like Liza was. So was Jeremy, but he tended to mostly not turn up to events. Ariah couldn’t really blame him, the events weren’t how she wanted to spend her day but she did get to hang out with her friends, which made the events bearable.

Ariah glanced at Tyler and couldn’t help but smile when he said that he tended to ignore Caroline, he was lucky and could get away with ignoring how crazy and demanding Caroline could get at times. She was now used to it and knew what to expect, Stefan didn’t so she was interested to see how he dealt with Caroline when the next Founder’s family event rolled around. “We all get through the events and then there’s usually a bonfire held that night, which we can all relax at.” Ariah briefly looked over to Stefan, he would probably get away with not having to attend the events.

“You should join in,” Caroline declared with a broad grin, “I promise, it will be a lot of fun.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers curled as she watched him. “Besides, you’re a Salvatore, which makes you a Founding family, which means that there’s even more of a reason to join in with them.” Her grin broadened, if it was possible, and she arched a brow in curiosity, hoping that she was convincing him, even a little.

Tyler rolled his eyes slightly, peering over at Ariah for a moment as he arched a brow. “And you were scared of me turning him away,” he mentioned a little jokingly, but he smiled slightly, watching her. It was easy to do, easy to focus on her, easy to get lost in just looking at her, because he couldn’t deny that she was beautiful. He just normally didn’t get to talk to her much, since he didn’t hang out with the group much. In reality, he didn’t really usually give himself a chance to hang out with them, but being here now, joking and talking with Ariah, a part of him wondered if maybe he should make this more of a habit. “Caroline’s going to scare him away and, next thing you know, he’ll be five states away.”

Hearing Ariah’s words, Liza offered a small nod. “Right,” she agreed, offering her sister a small smile before she looked back to Stefan. “I mean… The Founding family events can get hectic, but… The calm after the storm - the bonfire, that is, - is actually kind of nice, peaceful… It’s a nice distraction.” And, after everything that had happened recently, Liza knew that she and Ariah and Jeremy needed a bit of a distraction. They were still trying to get used to their parents’ absence, still trying to adjust to not waking up and having their parents there every morning, but they were at least getting through it together, even if it was incredibly difficult.

“And, not all of the events are horrible,” Tyler said eventually, shrugging, “My family holds a masquerade ball close to the end of the month - the entire Founding family fiasco is a month worth of events, so there’s plenty to do. And, not long after the Founding family events end, there’s a carnival.” Caroline nodded eagerly, leaning further forward, wanting to be heard. “Oh! And let’s not forget Miss Mystic Falls!” she chimed out. Liza looked mildly amused with the mention of it, looking to Stefan. “She’s kind of in love with that event in particular,” she mentioned after a moment.

Stefan glanced over to the blonde, he knew what she was trying to do. Rope him into joining in on the Founder family events, because technically his family was a founder of Mystic Falls. But he knew that if he did join in, someone would find out just how long ago he did live in the small town and that is what he was trying to avoid at all costs. “Perhaps, I’ll see when the time comes.” He spoke hoping Caroline would be happy enough with his reply for now, his main focus was on the girl sitting beside him. He wasn’t there to join in on town events, he was there for Liza. He wanted to know more about her and find out just how she looked exactly like Katherine, of course both of those were going to take time. Lucky for Stefan, he had plenty of time on his hands.

Ariah tried not to smile at Tyler’s comment, but she couldn’t help herself. It was true, Caroline was becoming pushy with the new guy and not everyone knew that was just how Caroline was. Her eyes glanced to Tyler, “Stop it.” Her voice was hushed but her smile was amused, she didn’t want her blonde friend overhearing Tyler’s comments and she knew Caroline wouldn’t take too kindly to them. And an upset Caroline was the last thing Ariah felt like dealing with, right now. “I have a feeling he’ll be staying,” She told him as Stefan seemed very interested in Liza, not that she blamed the guy. Her sister was amazing in every way possible, she just hoped it wasn’t obvious to anyone else, mainly Matt as she didn’t want him hurting more than what he probably already was.

Listening to the other’s talk about the different founding families traditions, he wondered how involved Liza was going to be now. And if she was going to enter Miss Mystic Falls, he would have to ask her about that later, he hoped he would be able to get some time alone with her soon. “The bonfire and carnival sound the best to me, it’s nice that the town has traditions,” He nodded his head lightly as he was being honest, not many towns or cities did celebrate traditions in the way that Mystic Falls seemed to.

Ariah smiled softly as she looked to Stefan, “The bonfire and carnival are the best.” She agreed with him, she rolled her eyes when Caroline brought up Miss Mystic Falls because why would she not? It was all she ever talked about, it was something that her mom had encouraged both herself and Liza to be involved with. But Ariah had never been that comfortable with the thought, she knew Liza would win. Ariah just didn’t want to have that much attention on her for that length of time, she hoped that her sister would still be involved in the day. Sighing softly, she heard the bell ring signalling that class would be beginning again soon.

Tyler knew what Ariah meant without having to ask. As much of a jerk as he was, though, he wasn’t about to question it or go further into the topic with Matt right there. Matt was his best friend and Tyler had even backed off Vicki in order to make things easier for Matt, so obviously he’d be in Matt’s corner with all of this, rooting him on to get his girl back. That thought aside, he shrugged slightly as he watched Ariah. “Maybe,” he commented easily, “Or maybe he’s just a new kid who wants friends and momentarily has his eyes on the first girl he saw until he gets bored.” At least the theory that Stefan would get bored and move on would make things easier for Matt.

Pushing the thought aside, he smirked as he watched Ariah before he moved to stand up. “Maybe I can walk you to class?” he offered up, arching a brow. It wasn’t like he was in a rush to get to his class, after all, and they’d share the class after that, at least. In a way, this might even be a way for him to figure out what class she’d be in before the class they shared together, so that he could show up to walk with her to their class together, but he tried not to really accept that as truth just yet. If he let himself believe that, it meant that he’d have to accept that he might have feelings for her and feelings weren’t something that Tyler easily dealt with.

Liza watched Tyler for a moment, arching a brow in faint amusement as she’d overheard him asking Ariah and she looked to her sister, nudging at her foot gently to try to get her to agree. She knew Ariah had a crush on Tyler, after all - Ariah and Liza pretty much always told each other everything. Even if they didn’t, Liza was sure she would have noticed either way, either because of the weird way they always knew how the other felt or because she’d seen the way Ariah looked at and watched Tyler in a way that screamed adoration. “The carnival’s always been pretty great,” she admitted, looking to Stefan as she offered a small smile, “It might be the only thing I actually look forward to.”

Sure, she participated in everything else, but that was all because she pretty much had to, it was expected with her, Ariah, and Jeremy being members of the Founding families. They did what they had to do so that they could enjoy the things that caught their interest. And, since the Miss Mystic Falls pageant was something their mom had loved, Liza kind of felt like it might be best to get involved with it, if only to respect their mom’s wishes. She didn’t want to mention it, though, because she was sure Caroline wouldn’t be too thrilled about it - she knew how much Caroline loved the pageant. Clearing her throat, she moved to stand up to head to class.

Ariah glanced over at Tyler, she knew what he was getting at. That Stefan would get bored of Liza and that would give Matt the chance to get back with her sister, but she knew that probably wasn’t going to happen. She knew Liza wanted a break from Matt, that the love she felt for the blonde-haired boy wasn’t what it used to be. However, it wasn’t Ariah’s place to say anything. Feeling Liza’s foot nudge her own, she decided to actually listen to her sister for once as she had been about to refuse Tyler’s offer. “Yeah, that would be nice.” She smiled at him before sending a small wave to her friends, she started walking away from the table knowing she didn’t have her next class with any of her friends.

“Are you going to the bonfire party tomorrow night?” She asked Tyler as they walked back into the high school, she looked at him as he walked beside her. She wasn’t sure why he’d want to walk her to her class, although she wasn’t going to complain about it as it meant she was able to spend more time with him. However, as she walked past two boys standing at their lockers, she faintly heard their whispering stop. Not before she heard one of them mention her parents’ death, she averted her gaze away from Tyler as pain shot through her eyes. She had been trying so hard to keep herself together, for Liza and Jeremy as it was their first day back at school. “I just need a minute,” Her voice broke as she moved to the side of the hallway, she tried to keep her breathing steady, but the tears were welling up in her eyes.

---

Stefan smiled as he listened to Liza, “Maybe we could go to the carnival together then.” He offered in a way the he hoped seemed casual, like that they would go to the carnival as friends. As he didn’t want to come across as desperate or creepy. Hearing the bell ring, he glanced back over to Liza. “Which way is the room M21?” He asked her as it was his next class for the day, he wanted to see if Liza would have the same class or if her next class was in a similar direction as his was. He watched as Bonnie, Matt and Caroline also headed off from the table, so they wouldn’t be late to class.

“And thank you again for letting me sit with you and your friends, I’ve never really been great at making friends or talking to new people.” He grinned as he looked at her, she did look exactly like Katherine but Liza was even more gorgeous than what Katherine had been. Maybe it was because Liza was beautiful inside and out, while Katherine had been rotten on the inside and only cared about making herself survive. Liza didn’t seem to be there to get something for herself, she clearly put herself last and Stefan truly admired that as not many people did put others first.

A broad grin spread across Tyler’s features when he heard Ariah agree to walk with him to their class. He counted it as a victory and, admittedly, he was looking forward to the extra time he’d get to spend with her, especially when it might be easier to talk to her one-on-one that way, rather than with the whole group jumping in with things to say and ways to change the topics. While it was a small group of friends, it was still large enough to make conversation - important, specific, focused conversation - difficult, with all the chatting. “Great, let’s go, then,” he decided, his grin still present as he turned to walk with her. But, then, once they were walking away from the group, he couldn’t really think of anything to say. He couldn’t think of a topic to start a conversation and that left Tyler bothered, because he didn’t usually struggle with conversation.

But, when she asked about the carnival, he nodded. “Yeah, I’m planning on it,” he assured her, “I mean, there will be booze and almost everybody is usually there. It’s a good way to just… Forget everything for a bit. Are you going?” He arched a brow and was about to speak more, but paused when he saw a pained expression cross over Ariah’s features and he frowned as he watched her, hearing her voice break. He looked towards those who had spoken, shooting them a glare, but followed after her quickly. “Hey… It’s okay to be upset,” he told her gently as he watched her with concern, “You’re not alone here.” He hated seeing the tears in her eyes, but he wasn't sure what to do and he eventually moved to wrap his arms around her gently.

---

Admittedly, Liza was a little caught off guard with the idea of going to the carnival together and she couldn’t help but to peer over at him as discreetly as she could manage to, blinking, as she tried to determine whether it was a good idea or not. If they went as just friends, she was sure that it would still hurt Matt either way - the carnival had always been something they’d looked forward to as a group, after all. Still… There couldn’t really be too much harm in going as just friends, could there? “Uh, yeah, I think that’d be fun,” she decided, offering a small smile as she looked ahead, “The whole group usually goes… We usually split up every now and then, but, for the most part, we all hang out, so…” She shrugged gently. “Oh, I can show you - I have that this hour, too.” Offering a small smile, she began to lead the way.

Hearing his gratitude, though, she was once again caught off guard, but she shook her head. “You don’t have to thank me,” she assured him, “Besides, it was Bonnie who invited you over. And, you fit in with the group well, for the most part… Though I am sorry if it was awkward at all. There’s a lot of… History in the group. And, Tyler doesn’t usually hang out with us, but we’ve all grown up together, so all of that could have made things really awkward for you, especially with all of Caroline’s questions.”

Stefan stole a glance at Liza, realising that he may have been too forward with her too quickly. “Oh well, if your friends all go together then that’s fine with me. As long as they want me to tag along,” As much as Stefan wanted to spend more time with Liza, he knew he would have to take things slow and go at her pace which he was completely fine with. He could feel the distrust coming from both Matt and Tyler, not that he blamed either one as he was trying to have Liza’s attention on him. “Oh great, lead the way.” He smiled as he began to follow Liza as she guided him in the direction of their next class.

“Then I’ll have to thank Bonnie as well, though you did speak to me the most which made it less awkward.” Stefan grinned as he couldn’t stop himself from glancing over to her every chance that he got, “Caroline’s questions are harmless, and I didn’t expect any less. I understand that you all have history together, but Tyler did look awfully comfortable sitting beside your sister.” He had just assumed they were dating, maybe he was wrong. His attention may have been constantly on Liza, but he still noticed everything surrounding him. Especially when he was sitting with Liza and her friends, he noticed things that most people wouldn’t.

---

Ariah hadn’t been expecting Tyler to wrap his arms around her, but once he had, she realised it was what she needed in that moment. She needed to be comforted by someone who wasn’t her family, because she allowed herself to lean further into his warm touch. “Sometimes I do feel alone, even though I know I’m not.” Her voice was still quiet as she didn’t want anyone to overhear her, she didn’t want anyone’s pity or sympathy anymore. Ariah closed her eyes for a few seconds as she focused on Tyler, she let herself feel the warmth from him and it was then, that she felt how amazing it felt to have him hold her. And that simple touch was able to keep her calm, to keep her emotions from getting the better of her.

“Is booze the only thing you think about?” She looked at him and gave him the best smile that she could muster up, she wiped the corner of her eyes with her fingers. “I thought I’d be fine if people whispered and stared at me, I had prepared myself for that. I guess I’m not as strong as what I’m trying to be,” She was glad that Tyler was there with her, because she could only imagine the mess she would be if she had been on her own.

“Oh, well, um, that’s not entirely what I meant,” Liza assured him, offering a small smile, “I mean, I’m sure it’s going to be different this year, anyways, since, uh… Things are kind of awkward with the whole group, with… Everything that’s happened.” She shrugged weakly and looked ahead. “So, everybody’s going to probably split up and do their own things more often than not, anyways. We just usually all meet there and do one or two things together before we do our own things.” She nodded, though, and began leading the way to their class, adjusting her backpack as she made sure to avoid bumping into people, though she didn’t dare look at anybody. The whole day, she’d noticed the looks of pity, and she didn’t want to see them anymore.

“Yeah, Bonnie’s a pretty great friend,” she admitted with a nod, “She cares a lot about the people around her. Caroline does, too, of course, but she can be a little… Pushy sometimes.” It could sometimes get to be too much, but she was honestly happy that Caroline tried so hard - it could just get overwhelming at times. She blinked, though, with the mention of Tyler and looked at him. “Really?” she asked, blinking as she thought about it. “I don’t even know how often they talk, honestly. So… That’s a little weird.” Her brows furrowed slightly but she motioned. “Oh, this is our class.”

---

Tyler rubbed Ariah’s back gently in hopes of comforting her as much as he could, though he wasn’t entirely sure what all he could do to help her. He didn’t normally even try to comfort people, but he couldn’t bare to see her so upset. It tugged at his heart and he was worried that there was nothing he could to to help her or comfort her, but he was trying his best. “You’re not,” he promised her quietly as he held her close, frowning with concern. He wasn’t sure what he could do to assure her that she wasn’t alone, and all he had were words to try to convince her, but he wasn’t sure that it was something he could convince her of, when it was something she felt and something he couldn’t control. There was little he could do besides be there for her, so that was what he decided he would do.

“Booze helps,” Tyler tried to joke, offering a small grin, but his expression softened when she spoke again and he watched her for a few long moments before he nodded slightly in understanding. “That doesn’t mean you’re not strong,” he assured her quietly as he watched her. “It just… Means that life sucks and it’s not fair, and that you’re a teenager who lost two of the most important people in your life. You’re allowed to let it out when you have to, it’s okay.” He nodded once, taking her in for a few moments. “Really. You’ve gotten through most of the day. Most people wouldn’t have even been able to step through the doors this morning. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“I know what you meant, Liza.” Stefan assured her with a grin, “I guess I thought maybe asking you out was too soon or that you weren’t interested. Which I totally understand,” He looked at her as they walked, he still didn’t want to bring up what he knew happened. Considering he had been there, he had pulled Liza from the car and he had been the one who hadn’t been able to save her parents. He was nervous if she knew, she was going to hate him. But her father had been the one who pointed at her in the backseat, and then he saw her. He had to save her, but when he dived back into the water, it was too late to save her parents.

“She does come across as a little pushy, but still nice.” He chuckled softly as that was the first impression he received from Caroline, she clearly still had a good heart though. “I wouldn’t say weird, but maybe I’m wrong.” He shrugged his shoulders lightly as they talked about Tyler and her sister, looking to the classroom he didn’t see the teacher yet. He allowed Liza to step into the room before him, “I also noticed the way Matt looked at you. Please tell me if it’s none of my business,” Stefan wanted to test the water, see if she’d open up to him. Or if she was willing to tell him if there was still anything there between her and Matt, he was hoping there wasn’t as selfish as that was, it was true.

---

Tyler didn’t even need to say anything, Ariah already felt slightly better with just the simple contact between them. Which is something she never once thought would happen or be true, but it was and it was nice. She listened to his voice and knew that he was right, she wasn’t alone and she was strong. She nodded lightly as her eyes found his, “I think I wanted to hold myself together while I was here… so it wouldn’t give everyone another reason to feel sorry for me or feel pity, which I know they do, because I can see it in their eyes.” She explained knowing that Liza felt exactly the same way, seeing pity in people’s eyes was one of the worst feelings she has seen and felt.

“We should get to class, I don’t want to make you late.” Ariah wouldn’t get into trouble if she was late to class, the teachers had so far more relaxed with her during the day. But that wasn’t the same for Tyler, she also knew how strict his dad was, so she really didn’t want to get him into trouble for being there with her. The hallway was pretty much empty now, apart from a few students who were rushing towards their class. They were going to be late anyway.

Liza, for a moment, mentally wondered if it really was too soon. She was still recovering from losing her parents and, not too long ago, she’d broken up with Matt. Would diving back into hanging out with a guy be a bad thing? While she thought about it, though, her gaze wandered to Stefan and she nearly got lost in just looking at him. His presence put her at a slight ease, something she wasn’t used to feeling these days. So, how could something like that be such a bad thing, if it made her feel better and cope better overall? “No, uh… I don’t think it’s too soon,” she assured him, offering a small smile as she watched him for a moment before she shook her head, “And I’m definitely interested.”

She nodded, though, with the mention of Caroline. “She is really nice. I mean, like I said, she can be pushy, but… When it comes to being there for her friends and just… Loving her friends, nobody can beat her in that,” she said honestly, though she shook her head with the later words. “Oh, I’m not meaning weird like… ‘Oh, there’s no way.’ I just mean it in the sense that… I’m surprised they seemed so comfortable around each other when Tyler doesn’t really hang out with any of us, besides Matt.” And, speaking of Matt, she sighed out with Stefan’s mention of him as she moved to sit down. “Well, you’ll find out eventually, either way, but…” She shrugged gently. “Matt and I were together for a long time. We were happy and everything, but… I don’t know, my feelings started to fade over time, and… After everything that happened, I just… Couldn’t really be with him anymore.”

---

Tyler nodded in understanding as he rubbed her back gently, watching her with concern. “You don’t have to force yourself to hold it together, though,” he assured her gently, “They’ll find something else to talk about before long, I promise. Hell, I’ll even do something to make them focus on that rather than on what you’re going through, if it’d help.” And, he was serious about it, too. All he wanted was to make sure that she was okay. It was odd, but… He felt a certain protectiveness over her, especially with everything she’d been through, and the fact that she was such a good person, who didn’t deserve any of the grief she had to deal with or any of discomfort she felt with everybody watching her sympathetically. If anybody really cared, they would have offered to help her out more, not just stared at her and gossiped amongst themselves.

“Yeah, that’d probably be best,” he agreed with a small nod as he watched her, knowing that they needed to get to class, so that he wouldn’t have to hear about it from his dad. But, he wished that wasn’t the case. He wished they didn’t have to worry about him being late to class, when she clearly needed somebody to comfort her. Still, shifting, he moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her to lead her to class, hoping that it would help her, even a little. “At least this class doesn’t have any seating arrangement, so we can just sit next to each other, if you want,” he suggested, looking to her, scanning over her features with concern. He hoped she would agree, partially so that he could be right there next to her in case things ended up getting overwhelming for her again. But, mostly, he wanted to sit next to her just to be near her in general. He didn’t want to outright say that, though.

Stefan felt better knowing that he hadn’t over stepped with asking Liza out, but he did think it probably was too soon for her even if she assured him it was fine. She had lost her parents and broken up with her boyfriend, it was a lot for anyone to deal with especially as she was still grieving over losing her parents on the same night. “That is good to know, but I would also really like to have some friends here too.” Looking at Liza, he couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t know her well yet, but anyone could see what an amazing person she was. And even later on if she did feel it was too soon, Stefan would still be happy to just have Liza as a friend. Listening to what Liza said about Caroline, he knew she was right about her friend. Stefan had limited time with Caroline and yes, he found her pushy. But he also sensed a more caring side of her, she clearly loved her friends and would do anything for them.

“I’ve found that when you’re comfortable with someone, no matter if your friends or strangers. It means that person is meant to be in your life,” Stefan had that feeling when he first met Lexi, he had been comfortable around her straight away and she was still to this day, his closest friend. Perhaps something similar will occur for Ariah and Tyler, if they continue to grow closer. Hearing Liza explain her relationship with Matt, he assumed they must had been dating for a long time as Matt clearly wasn’t over Liza. “I’m sorry to hear that, but I know myself how certain feelings can fade after time. At least you had the courage to understand how you were feeling and didn’t get stuck in a relationship like I had.” He looked at her as he briefly mentioned the relationship he had with Katherine, if he could even call what they had a relationship. It was more of a toxic down hill spiral, not that he was thinking about her at that moment as he was more focused on Liza.

---

Ariah knew Tyler was right, she didn’t need to always hold myself together. But sometimes she did, so she could be the strong support that her family currently needed from someone. A small smile warmed her face as she looked at him when he offered to do something, to give the other students something else to talk about. “Like starting another fight with my brother?” She was joking, of course she didn’t want Jeremy getting himself into another fight. But he had seemed to get himself into a few already with Tyler, the fights seemed to be over Vicki. She did like Vicki but she wasn’t sure if Ariah wanted her little brother to be spending time with her, like he was. Ariah knew at that moment, Tyler cared about her. He cared more than she could ever imagine, and that meant so much to her.

Ariah was glad and relieved that she shared the next class with Tyler, she didn’t want to think about having a class without any of her friends. She knew Liza had a class on her own, apparently, she now shared that class with Stefan. She hoped he would offer her sister some comfort if she needed it, she couldn’t be sure, however, considering she didn’t know much about Stefan. “I’d really like that,” She felt Tyler move to her side and wrap his arm around her, she started heading towards the classroom where they should have been already. Not that it took them long to reach the classroom, the hallways were now empty. Once they did walk into the room, Ariah muttered a small apology for being late before she sat down at a desk where Tyler could sit beside her.

Liza smiled slightly and nodded to his words as she looked ahead. “I’m sure most of the group would love to be friends with you,” she assured him; the only ones she wasn’t too sure about were Matt and Tyler, but she hoped nothing would happen on that front. The last thing she really wanted was for her ex to cause any problems, but she was sure he wouldn’t do anything major. Matt was a nice guy, he was sweet and caring, always quick to put everybody around him before himself. A part of her felt bad for how things had ended, because of how great of a person Matt was - he hadn’t deserved for her to break his heart, but it had been for the better, overall. She tried not to think about it too much, though, and blinked, looking towards Stefan as she listened to him talk, mostly really enjoying talking to somebody who wouldn’t really pick sides, somebody who was in neutral territory to it all.

“You’re probably right,” she admitted with a small nod, “Tyler’s been in our lives forever, since we’re all Founding families, but he hasn’t really been close to anybody except Matt, so… Him getting close to Ariah and things seeming natural for them, I’m glad.” Offering a small smile, she leaned back in her seat, though she listened to him talk a little more and she eventually shrugged gently. “It wasn’t just that, though,” she said after a moment, shifting a bit, “I really just didn’t want to seem like I was stringing him along. When I felt like we were growing distant, I ended things, because I didn’t want either of us to end up miserable, and I didn’t want him to ever feel like I just strung him along for the hell of it.” Her expression softened, though, and she looked over at him. “I’m sorry you had to go through something like that, though.” She watched him for a long moment, a little concerned about him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

---

Tyler made a joking face with the mention of fighting Ariah’s brother and he shrugged slightly. “Well, maybe not, unless it would absolutely make you feel better,” he joked lightly, offering a smile to her as he watched her. “Your call, though.” He didn’t want to make things awkward by fighting her brother, though. But, if it would get the attention off of her and as long as she was okay with it, he probably most definitely would have started a fight with Jeremy - and probably for no real reason, because he was done with Vicki. A part of him was sure that if he did fight with Jeremy, though, Vicki and Jeremy and the whole school would probably think the fight was over Vicki, that he wanted Vicki back, and that wasn’t true. He’d already made his choice; he’d chosen his best friend, Matt, over Vicki. It wasn’t like he and Vicki had any actual love between them, anyways. But, beyond that, his attention was definitely focused on Ariah, too, which was even more reason to avoid sparking anything back up with Vicki.

When they got to class, Tyler followed Ariah to the seats, glad there wasn’t really a seating chart, no assigned seating arrangement, so that they could sit anywhere - and he was definitely going to take this chance to sit next to Ariah, since he didn’t often get the opportunity to. Sliding into the seat next to the one Ariah had chosen, Tyler set his bag on the floor and tugged out his things, though he mostly planned on doodling and sketching for this class, since he was pretty on top of the class overall. Looking over to Ariah, he offered a small smile as he watched her, hoping she was feeling better. “Think you can handle this class without getting too distracted?” he teased lightly, his tone quiet to avoid attracting attention to them, because he didn’t want to get Ariah in trouble for talking in class. She had enough to deal with already; he didn’t want to add onto that by adding extra stress because of the teacher. Still, he flipped through his sketchbook to start sketching a bit, but he found himself drawing Ariah, unable to really help it.

“Plus, it will mean there is an extra person that cares about her and can be there for her.” Stefan shrugged his shoulders lightly, maybe he just picked up on things easier between people or it was because he’s been alive for so long that he saw things that others didn’t. He didn’t know Tyler or Ariah at all, but he could see the beginnings of something growing between them. He wanted to assure Liza of that, in hopes it would give her a reason to worry less about her sister. He listened to her and had to nod his head lightly, “I agree with you there. You did want you had to, it will take some time but I’m sure Matt will realise that to. I have been strung along, it’s never a good feeling once you realise that.” Looking at Liza, he couldn’t help but smile at her. Here she was, dealing with the loss of her parents and her near drowning, yet she was offering to listen to the toxic relationship that he had with Katherine. “You don’t have to be sorry, I should have seen her for what she was sooner than what I did. Maybe that could be a story for another time,” He couldn’t take his eyes away from her.

The story of Katherine Pierce would be a story that he’d keep to himself, there was no way he would ever tell Liza about the woman he once thought he loved. She after all, made him into the monster he was today. How she looked exactly like Katherine, still blew his mind and he wasn’t comforted by it. It didn’t make any sense to him, he had been around for over a hundred years now and he had never seen this before. “We should probably listen, I wouldn’t want to get you into trouble.” He dropped his voice as the teacher begun talking to the class, smiling he stole one last glance at Liza before his eyes moved onto the teacher. Of course, he had heard all of this before. He wasn’t going to learn anything new, he was really only there because of Liza. He would have left Mystic Falls if he hadn’t seen her in the sinking car, but here she was and if he wanted to know her more, he would have to act like a normal teenage boy. Which meant going to high school.

---

Ariah shook her head as a small smile creeped onto her lips, “I’d much rather you not fight my brother.” She knew Tyler and Jeremy had fought in the past, because they had both wanted to be with Vicki. Ariah wasn’t sure what was going on with Tyler and Vicki now, she hadn’t seen him spending much time with her recently and that gave Ariah a slight ray of hope. Once in class, she looked at Tyler as he sat beside her. “I’ll be fine, no need for any concern.” Her voice was low as she didn’t want to get into trouble on the first day back, not that she really ever actually got into trouble at school. She was someone who enjoyed learning, she never normally dreading going to school. Her eyes moved to the front of the class as she listened to what the teacher was saying, she was far too busy taking notes down in her book to notice what Tyler was doing. The day so far had felt like it was dragging on for Ariah, normally she didn’t feel like that, but she just wanted the day to be done.

She wanted to get away from the high school, to not have to concentrate on learning or writing notes. She didn’t feel like doing much, though she knew if she did nothing. Her mind would go back to her parents, crying had already left her exhausted and she’d rather not feel the ache in her chest knowing they wouldn’t be coming back. It’s why Jenna encouraged them all to be around their friends as much as possible, not that anyone else truly knew what the Gilbert siblings were going through or what they were feelings. Resting her chin in her hand, she placed her elbow on her desk. She hoped she didn’t look bored as she watched the teacher at the front of the classroom, her eyes would flicker to the clock on the wall every few minutes which only made the time go slower.

A few days had passed since the initial meeting and Liza had spent time in the classes and at lunch, getting to know Stefan. She could see how much it bothered Matt, so she’d tried her best not to show too much interest when Matt was around, because she didn’t want to hurt Matt. But, there was just something about Stefan that made it so difficult to not be drawn in - she wanted to be around him as much as she could, she wanted to learn as much about him as he was willing to tell. It was hard to not make that obvious, hard to be even remotely discreet about it, but she tried her best, not wanting to upset Matt in any way. Matt had been there for her and Ariah and Jeremy throughout the entire experience of losing their parents, helping in any way that he could. He didn’t deserve to be hurt. But, Liza couldn’t really fight her urge to get closer to Stefan; something about him was just constantly reeling her in.

But, tonight was the night of the bonfire and she wanted to push those thoughts aside and smiled to Ariah as they got to the bonfire. “Ready?” she asked quietly, reaching over to give her sister’s hand a squeeze. Jeremy was already climbing out of the car, going off to find Vicki, and Liza watched him, worried. In a sense, Liza felt like Jeremy was trying to distance himself from them. She tried not to think about it too much, all too aware of Vicki’s influence on her brother, and she cleared her throat before climbing out of the car and stretching her arms out above her. “So, I say we go straight to looking for the alcohol?” she joked lightly, smiling to Ariah, though she didn’t intend on drinking much at all. After all, she was hopeful that Stefan would show up at the bonfire and the last thing Liza really wanted to do was to make a fool of herself in front of him by being way too drunk.

---

Throughout the past few days, Tyler had done what he could to be there for Ariah during school; he wasn’t sure if he was actually managing to help her in any way, but he wanted to do what he could for her. He knew she was going through a hard time with losing her parents and it seemed like she was trying to be strong for her sister and her brother, but he wanted to let her know that she wasn’t alone, so he’d done whatever he could do to make sure she knew that she could count on him. Matt had seemed to appreciate it, seeing how much Tyler was trying to help Ariah, and both happy with that and the fact that Tyler had given up on Vicki before all of this. Secretly, Matt was even hoping that Tyler and Ariah might get together; Matt felt like Ariah would help ground Tyler, would keep him out of trouble, and he could see that Ariah needed somebody in her life that she could lean on, so he was hopeful that Tyler could be that person for her.

Matt had even teased Tyler about it a bit when they were on their way to the bonfire. Even when they were pulling up, Matt joked lightly, “You know, you could just make a move. What’s the worst that could happen?” Tyler snorted quietly, rolling his eyes as he parked his car. “The worst that could happen is that she says no and then avoids me forever,” he said easily in response, looking to his friend, “And, right now, she needs somebody to be there for her, so her avoiding me forever isn’t exactly something I want to happen, not when I want to help her as much as I can.” He stared at Matt for a long moment before he climbed out of the car. A huge part of him wanted to give into what his friend was saying, and he wanted to make a move on Ariah, test the waters, see if she was even mildly interested - but, a bigger part of him wasn’t sure that now was such a good time to do that, with everything she’d been through. That didn’t mean he was just going to back off, though; he wanted to see where things could go for them.

Stefan had clearly arrived at the bonfire party before Liza had, he couldn’t see her nor her siblings among the faces of kids who had arrived. He had spent as much time with Liza as he possibly could during the past few days, talking with her and getting to know her better. He still wasn’t sure how or why she looked exactly like Katherine, thankfully Liza was only similar to Katherine in appearance and nothing else. She had the biggest heart, she always thought of others and put other’s before herself, she was smarter than she realised. She was truly a beautiful person, inside and out. Stefan considered himself lucky to have met her, he hadn’t yet told her that he had been the one to save her. He didn’t want her blaming him for not being able to also save her parents, he had tried but he was terrified she wouldn’t see that and would start to hate him. He did deserve that, he hadn’t already done right by people and had caused so much destruction since he was turned into a vampire.

Waiting around the woods, he kept checking for Liza and found himself getting disappointed each time that he didn’t find her among the crowd of other students. He kept to himself as he did wait, he was really only there at the bonfire because of Liza. She wanted him there, so he was. There was honestly, no other point for him to attend the back to school party, not that he had told Liza that as he wasn’t sure if she would find that creepy or sweet of him. He had lost track of time, it felt like time had slowed right down as he waited, that was until he saw Jeremy arrive and head straight over to his friends. Well, Stefan thought Jeremy were friends with the people he hung out with, not that he approved of who the youngest Gilbert spent his time with, but he wasn’t any of his business. A smile formed on his face when his eyes landed on the brunette, he wasn’t sure if he should go up to her straight away or let her have some time with her friends first. He did feel like he was taking up all of Liza’s time while they were at school, something her friends might not like, not that Stefan actually cared.

---

Ariah hadn’t been as excited about the bonfire this year, normally she was all for spending the night out in the woods with her sister and their friends. If she was honest with herself, she was only going because she knew Tyler was going to be there. The past few days he had been amazing and had just been there for her, she hadn’t been expecting it from him, though she wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to be there for him. “Ready as I ever will be,” She looked at her sister before she watched Jeremy wander off to probably find Vicki, a relationship that Ariah didn’t approve of, but she also knew if she said anything then it would only push her brother further away. Climbing out of the car, she smiled over at her sister. “Don’t you mean, let’s go find a certain boy?” She teased her sister knowing that she liked Stefan, she could see how it was hurting Matt, but she just wanted her sister to be happy. If Stefan made Liza happy, then Ariah was going to support whatever came out of them spending so much time together.

However, as soon as she had teased her sister. She found herself looking around for Tyler, she wasn’t wanting to drink much at the bonfire. She wanted to be sober in case Jeremy caused trouble for himself, or just decided to drink too much. As she searched for Tyler, her eyes found where Stefan was standing on his own. “Looks like he’s already here,” She grinned at Liza, glad that Stefan seemed to be helping her sister through everything. He had Liza smiling again, Ariah could see her sister was slowly beginning to go back to her old self and it was all thanks to Stefan. Unlike Jeremy, who only seemed to be drifting further away from them. The people he decided to hang out with, weren’t helping the situation but Ariah was keeping a close eye on him. Moving over to her sister, she gently nudged Liza’ arm as they both headed towards the party.