Cosmic Love

The next morning I woke up to the sounds of Stefan talking to someone. The voice was feminine but not one I recognized. I made my way to Stefan’s room and walked in to him and another girl in his bed. We noticed each other at the same time and surveyed the other. She had blonde hair and brown eyes. She was quite pretty and I was surprised to see a smile on Stefan’s face.

“Who’s this?” she and I asked at the same time to Stefan. A smile appeared on his face. He seemed in good spirits today.

“Lexi, this Emma. Emma, Lexi.” I gave her a polite smile and she did the same.

“How do you know her?” we asked at the same time again. Stefan smiled again barely containing his laughter.

“I met Lexi soon after I left Mystic Falls. She helped me with becoming a vampire,” he explained to me. “Emma is originally from Mystic Falls. Her last name is Gilbert. She was turned the same night I was. Except not by Katherine.”

“I’m surprised the bitch didn’t screw you over,” remarked Lexi. She kind of did, I wanted to say. But instead I said,

“I think I’m going to like you.”

“Why’s that?” she asked curious.

“Well for one, you helped Stefan. Secondly, you hate Katherine. Anyone that hates Katherine is a friend of mine.”

“I think I’m going to like you too,” she said. A glance at Stefan told me he seemed pleased we were getting along. Even if it was over our hatred of Katherine.

“I have to get going,” Stefan said standing up. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay here?” he asked Lexi. “I got some things I have to take care of.”

“Well, it’s not exactly like I can go anywhere. And you and Damon are the only ones with these nifty little daylight rings,” she said handling Stefan’s ring.

“Actually, I have one too,” I said flashing my ring.

“I have a mood ring from ’75. Trade, ya?” she asked me.

“It doesn’t work that way and you know it,” said Stefan putting her hand down.

“Aw man,” she said pretending to be disappointed.

“Hey, Lex,” said Stefan, “I’m really glad that you came here.”

“Okay, what are we doing for your birthday?” asked Lexi. Stefan groaned in response.

“It’s your birthday?!” I said excited. Stefan just rolled his eyes.

“It’s not every day a guy turns 162 years old.” This just resulted in more groaning from Stefan.

“Really?” Stefan asked Lexi.

“Oh, yeah,” she said raising her eyebrows.

“You know I don’t like the attention,” complained Stefan.

“No one has to know but we’re celebrating,” I said.

“It’s two against one. You’re not going to win,” said Lexi, a smirk on her face.

“Fine, but I really have to get going now. There’s questions about Vicki,” he explained to me. His somber mood seemed to drape over him again.

“Go, and come back quick,” said Lexi. “We have party planning to do!” She practically pushed him out of his own room. Once he was gone she turned back to me, a smile on each of our faces. We were both up to no good.

Lexi decided to take a nap in one of the guest rooms while I headed downstairs. As I was walking down the hallway I was intercepted by Damon. “Did you know it’s Stefan’s birthday?” I asked him before he could speak.

“Of course I did. He’s my little brother.” There’s that smirk on his face he saves just to get on your nerves.

“Well, you could have told me. We have to celebrate.”

“Stefan never loves celebrating. He’s much too broody.”

“I would think that would make you want to celebrate more,” I said raising an eyebrow. I was waiting for him to dispute me. “And he actually wasn’t brooding this morning.”

“Did he discover the cure to vampirism? Because I don’t know what else would cause that.”

“Some girl named Lexi is here. I guess she’s an old friend of Stefan’s,” I shrugged.

“Lexi?” he asked surprised.

“You know her?” I said surprised. I didn’t think Stefan and Damon would share the same group of people. They’re too opposite of each other. Before they were practically inseparable. Now you were still lucky to tear them apart but that was because they were usually fighting.

“Met her a couple times,” he shrugged making his earlier surprise disappear.

“Right,” I said not believing him for a second. A smile appeared on Damon’s face.

“Do you think I’m lying?” he asked. Everything was a game to him.

“Damon Salvatore lie? Never.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

“Your confidence in me is disheartening,” he said obviously a little upset. I simply shrugged and moved past him to the door. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“Getting a present for Stefan,” I said without looking back and shut the door behind me quickly.

It took a long time for me to find something. I felt like I went everywhere. I mean, what were you supposed to buy a guy that was turning 162? But then I found the perfect gift. As soon as I touched it a memory flashed through my head like it had been embedded there.

I sat in the room in front of the fire. I had a book on my lap and a mug of tea on the table beside me to the left. On a chair to my right sat my mother. On the left sat another woman in a chair of the same kind. She and my mother were gossiping about the latest happenings in town.

I sat pretending to pay attention to my book and trying to behave myself. My mother had said I could only come if I was on my best behavior. Or she would never take me anywhere again. I turned to get my mug and glanced at the woman. The first thing that caught my eye was the necklace she was wearing. As the fire light hit it the necklace dazzled around the room sending spots of light everywhere.

Just then there was the sound of the door bursting open and little feet running in. “Mom,” came a little kid’s voice. He ran over to her and said something. I didn’t catch what it was. The boy had black hair that was in slight curls. And as he turned to acknowledge my mother’s and my presence I noticed his blue eyes. They looked the color of the sky on a cloudless day. They were beautiful.

The memory faded and I was back in the antique shop. I was in the town over from Mystic Falls. It was just pure luck and coincidence that I happened upon it. Immediately I picked it up and brought it over to the register. After it was safe in its package I went back to the boarding house, eagerly waiting to give it to Stefan.

When I arrived in I immediately put it up in my room and hid it. I didn’t want Stefan finding it accidently. I would wait till later to give it to Stefan. As I came downstairs the smell of blood wafted into my nose. I followed the scent to where Lexi was drinking from a blood bag in a chair. Her back was to me.

“Lexi, I would never judge you,” Stefan was saying. He was standing on the opposite side of the coffee table from her. His arms were crossed in an almost disapproving manner.

“I’m just jealous of your restraint. I have none. I delight in hedonism,” she said. I could practically see the smile on her face. “Speaking of which, what are we doing tonight?”

“That’s what I’m wondering,” I said coming into the room. Stefan gave me a wondering glance at where I had been but I ignored him.

“Funny you should ask,” I heard Damon say coming into the room.

“Well, I wasn’t asking you,” said Lexi. She immediately switched to a harsher tone.

“There’s a party at the grill. You’ll love it. Banquettes, tacky wait staff, all of Stefan’s friends.”

“Yeah, I don’t want a birthday party,” Stefan said with a less than enthusiastic tone.

“Well it’s not for you,” explained Damon. “It’s a party party. No one’s going to know it’s your birthday. Caroline’s throwing it.” You could tell he threw it out there just to bait Stefan. He was begging him to disapprove.

“Damon, stay away from Caroline.”

“We’re friends it’s cool. It’s important for the town to see us out and about like normal folk. We need to blend.” His face then scrunched up as he looked down at Lexi’s blood bags. “Ugh,” he said in disgust. “I prefer mine at 98.6.” Then he turned and walked away to go upstairs.

“Let’s go,” said Lexi as soon as he was gone. Stefan rolled his eyes and looked less than pleased.

“Come on, Stef. It’s a party,” I said practically begging.

“Please?” asked Lexi sarcastically. As Stefan chuckled I could tell he gave in.

“Yes!” I cheered pumping a fist in the air. “I’m going to get ready.” I then went upstairs with a slight skip in my step. It took a couple hours for all three of us to get ready. I was mostly in my room choosing an outfit and playing with my hair and makeup. I also soaked in the tub for a bit.

By the time I was ready to go Lexi was just about to knock on my door. “You ready?” I asked with a smile.

“Oh yeah,” she said sharing a smile of her own. We walked back to Stefan’s room where he was just finished looking in the mirror.

“You look dashing,” I said going up to him. “Now let’s get to that party.”

“Why don’t you guys go on ahead of me,” said Stefan. “There’s something I need to take care of.”

“You’re not going to ditch are you?” asked Lexi in a warning tone.

“No, no, no,” assured Stefan. “I’m going to stop by Elena’s first.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said. And Lexi also agreed. “I’ll drive and we can meet you there.” Lexi and I headed down and got in the car. The drive there we played music and sung along. We weren’t that good but it’s not like we cared.

As we entered the Mystic Grill it was packed with people. Lexi was in front of me as we weaved through the crowd. I suggested going to the pool tables and that’s where she was headed. Suddenly Damon was in front of us. “Where’s my brother?” he asked.

“Said he’d meet us here,” said Lexi not stopping to talk to Damon.

“Thought you uh...” Damon trailed off as Lexi just walked past him, brushing his shoulder. His attention turned back to me though and he caught my arm before I could pass. His grip was firm but it wasn’t hurting.

“What is it, Damon?” I asked concerned looking up into those clear blue eyes. He stared into mine for a few moments before releasing me.

“Nothing,” he mumbled and turned to walk away.

“Damon,” I said reaching for him. I only grasped air though as he disappeared into the crowd.