01|PILOT

Gemma leans against a tree near the road, her arms crossed and her dark eyes trained on her brother. "What's the point of this again?" She asks dryly, letting her head loll back so she can see the stars.

"Well," he begins in a dramatic fashion— as Damon Salvatore always does. "It messes with Stefan—and the fear of the townspeople is just a plus."

Gemma feels her eyebrows raise. "Townspeople, meaning Elena Gilbert?"

Gemma still remembers the day she waltzed back into town, unsuspecting and unknowing of the existence of a certain Katherine Pierce look-alike. It gave her quite a shock, although she knew it couldn't have been her late best friend.

Damon looks up at the sound of the girl's name, a conflicted expression adorning his face. "I have no idea what you mean, Gemma."

Gemma and Damon stare at each other with blank expressions, their icy eyes challenging. The female Salvatore is the first to relent, her eyes darting back toward the stars. "Okay," she says.

She sees Damon perk up out of the corner of her eye—the nearing car meaning he gets to complete his mission for the night. He shoots Gemma a look—one that says 'stay out of sight or else I'll wring your neck'—and uses his vampire speed to stand in the middle of the road.

Gemma—following her brother's instructions like the good little soldier she is—presses herself closer to the tree. A feeling of guilt washes over her but she quickly brushes it off, keeping her eyes focused above her.

"What's with all the fog?" A feminine voice rings out, causing Gemma to tilt her head in the direction of the oncoming car. They were close—if she could hear their conversation, that is.

"It'll clear in a second," the man assures the girl.

There's a beat of silence before the woman lets out a choked scream of, "Watch out!"

Although it was in the plan for Damon to get ran over all along, Gemma still flinches at the sickening crunch that fills the air. Her eyes slip closed and she allows herself to listen to the screeching of the vehicle brakes, along with the panicked mumbling of the couple.

"Are you okay?" The man questions frantically.

"We just hit someone!" The woman exclaims, her voice shaking. "Oh my god!"

"Call for help," he tells her before shuffling out of the vehicle. Gemma briefly wonders if she should yell for him to turn back, or sweep he and his girlfriend away from Damon.

"Come on, come on!" The girl mutters in a haste. Gemma assumes the phone isn't working, what with them being in the middle of the woods and all.

"Please be alive!" The man says more to himself then Damon. He falls silent and there's a quiet movement, as if the man had gotten a closer look. "Oh, my god."

Gemma's eyes snap open at the sound of horrified realization in the man's voice. Death is a scary thing, she supposes. The human lets out another sound—this time, it's more choked and gurgled. The female Salvatore sighs heavily at the obvious murder.

A second car door opens and the girl calls out, "There's no signal!" After not getting a response from her boyfriend, "Darren! Darren?"

Gemma hears a thump, followed by a shrill scream. Her eyes instinctively squint in annoyance at the sound but it quickly gets cut off as Damon kills the girl. Not long after the double murder, he saunters back over to his sister with a sinister smirk. "Enjoy the show?"

Gemma smiles wryly before motioning to his face, a glimmer of disapproval flashing in her eyes. "Might want to clean up before you run into Elena again. Wouldn't want to scare her away, right?"

Once again, the siblings share a look before silently trudging further into the woods.

•••

Gemma sits in the middle of Stefan's bed, a bored expression plastered on her face as she takes in the familiarity of the room. She perks up as the downstairs door slams open, Stefan's panicked pacing filling the air.

"What's going on?" Zach questions, worried.

"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach," Stefan jogs up the stairs. "And it wasn't me."

Stefan enters his room, the intense stare in his eye being aimed at Gemma as soon as he crossed the threshold. "What are you doing here?"

Gemma raises her eyebrows, a smirk pulling at her red lips. A shuffle of movement on the balcony startles Stefan, his head snapping to the side at the sight of a crow. A few seconds pass and Damon appears, his blue eyes boring into Stefans.

"Damon," the youngest Salvatore says, his tone cold.

"Hello, brother." He flashes a bitter smile.

"Crow's a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan taunts, "and to have Gemma come in first to intimidate me? You've lost your touch, brother."

Gemma's bottom lip juts out in a sarcastic attempt at showing Stefan his comment hurt.

Damon lets out a breathy laugh, "Wait till you see what I can do with the fog."

"When'd you get here?" Stefan questions his older siblings, his eyes flicking between the two.

Gemma lets her cheek rest on her shoulder, her eyes lazily glancing over to Damon.

"Well, we couldn't miss your first day at school," he teases. "Your hair's different. I like it."

Gemma hums, "I liked the look from the 20's."

Stefan sends her a glare, "It's been 15 years, guys."

"Thank God," Damon chuckles. "I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look? Did not suit you."

Gemma swings her legs over the side of the bed and stands, stretching out her muscles. "I don't know, Damon, the 90's look was good to me. I wouldn't mind going back." She turns to find the blank stare of both brothers. She blinks slowly, "Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?" He demands.

"We miss our little brother," Damon chirps.

Gemma opens her mouth to object, quickly backtracking when Damon sends her a look.

"You hate small towns and Gemma hates whatever you hate," Stefan counters. "It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

"That's not true," Gemma half-ass snaps. "I hate different things now,"

Damon nods, agreeing. "As for the boredom, I've managed to keep myself busy."

Stefan pauses. "You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."

Damon grimaces, "That can be a problem...for you."

"A very big problem," Gemma continues to goad him.

"Why are you here now?" The youngest Salvatore asks.

"I could ask you the same question," Damon tuts. "However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word...Elena."

Gemma mimics the sound of surprise, muttering an "oh wow" under her breath, a grin threatening to lift her lips.

"She took my breath away. Elena,"

The female Salvatore plops down in Stefan's desk chair, her dark eyes studying the younger vampire. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine. She even had me fooled,"

"Is it working, Stefan?" Damon questions. "Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?"

"She's not Katherine," Stefan snaps.

"Obviously," Gemma laughs.

Damon makes a sound of distaste. "Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended. Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"

"I know what you're doing, Damon." Stefan swallows thickly. "I know what you're getting Gemma to do. It's not gonna work."

"Yeah?" Damon turns to him. "Come on. Don't you crave a little?" He starts to shove Stefan backward, shooting Gemma an amused look when she stands.

"Stop it," Stefan seethes.

"Let's do it," Damon urges. "Together. I saw a couple girls out there. Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Elena."

"Stop it!"

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!"

Stefan's face transforms and Damon smirks, almost satisfied. "I can."

"I said stop!" Stefan yells, lurching forward and throwing himself and Damon out of the window.

Gemma sighs deeply, trudging to the edge of the balcony and throwing herself onto the ground below. Stefan lies there, battered and looking around for Damon.

"I was impressed," the man in questions admits. "I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face...thing." He mimics Stefan's growl. "It was good."

"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die."

Gemma snorts, "That's a given."

"Not here," Stefan shakes his head. "I won't allow it."

"I take that as an invitation," the oldest Salvatore says.

"Damon, please." Stefan pleads. "After all these years, can't we just give it a rest?"

"I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word."

"Just stay away from Elena," Stefan finally says.

"Seriously?" Gemma deadpans. "It's been, what? Three months, and you're already whipped by a Katherine Pierce look alike?"

Stefan slumps in defeat, his eyes downcast.

Worsening the blow, Damon faux gasps. "Where's your ring? Oh, yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and, poof, ashes to ashes." Stefan gives him an emotionless look and Damon rolls his eyes, tired of the lack of reactions. "Relax. It's right here,"

Damon watches Stefan put his ring back on, taking the moment of distraction to grab his little brother by the throat and throw him against the garage. "You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." He pauses, his head angled toward the house. "I think we woke Zach up. Sorry, Zach."

Gemma lingers outside as Damon saunters back into the house.

"Are you okay?" She asks Stefan, more by obligation than worry.

"Are you?" He shoots back, groaning as he struggles to stand. "How insane do you have to be to get back in line with Damon? You got away, Gemma. I don't understand—"

"He's my brother," she defends herself.

"I am too!" Stefan shouts, throwing his arms up in frustration. "I'm your brother too, Gemma!"

The female Salvatore softens for a second. "I know," she replies.

Stefan remains standing in front of her for a few long seconds, his eyes searching her for the big sister he grew up with. "You've completely and utterly stooped to his level this time, haven't you?"

Gemma's face hardens and she gives him a careless shrug. "Welcome to eternity, Stefan."

•••

not edited.