A couple of weeks after Lucy had officially moved into the boarding house, she was spending one of her rare nights alone. The brothers were bonding and, despite their insistence she was welcome to join, she had opted to give them some time without her. They'd dropped her off at the Grill and she'd had a meal with a couple of drinks. Now, she was walking home.

The boarding house was a bit of a walk, but it was a beautiful evening. She had a little smile on her face as she made a mental list of things she needed to do the next day as she meandered toward home. She'd just reached the edge of the business district when a firm grip on her arm tugged her sideways into an alley. The figure that stood before her as she was shoved back into the wall made her lip curl in disgust.

He was dirty and drunk. He sneered as he looked her over and crowded into her, trying to use his size to intimidate her. She'd seen him around town once or twice but had never gotten any particularly creepy vibes off him. Guess she was wrong. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

He jerked his head back as if the bored tone of her voice was insulting. Perhaps it was. After all, he was probably expecting pleading and fear. "I'm just trying to get to know you, sweetheart. There's nothing wrong with that is there?" He tried, and failed, to sound innocent.

"This isn't how you get to know someone, asshole." She clenched her teeth together and a muscle twitched in her jaw. "Tell you what, I've had a pretty good day today. You should take advantage and let me go before you piss me off."

"I don't think so." He took a step to close the already minimal distance between them.

Lucy sighed. Why were there so many assholes in this town? Thrusting her arm forward, she used the heel of her hand to land a blow to his solar plexus. He stumbled back and she swept his legs out from under him before landing a kick to his crotch followed by another to his stomach.

As he curled in on himself, she searched through his pockets. She tossed his keys into the nearby dumpster and pulled out his wallet. "What are you doing?" he moaned as she flipped through the contents.

She used her phone to snap a picture of his ID before dropping it and the wallet on top of him. "I suggest you become an upstanding member of society, Daniel Tines, or we'll be having another conversation. I'll even introduce you to a couple of friends. I'm sure they'd just love to get to know you."

She left him groaning behind her and continued her trek to the boarding house.

***

Lucy didn't mention the incident to either Salvatore, knowing that as soon as she did Mr. Tines would no longer be a living resident of Mystic Falls. He was an asshole but that didn't warrant a death sentence quite yet. Besides, it was always good to have a sacrifice on standby.

Near the end of summer, Lucy and Damon were watching mindless TV and swapping stories when Stefan entered the room and sat in one of the chairs. He was quiet for a long time before announcing, "I've enrolled at the high school."

The other two exchanged a look before Damon turned off the television and leaned forward to stare at his brother. "Why?"

The disbelief was so heavy in the vampire's voice, Lucy couldn't help but laugh. She agreed completely, but still.

Stefan shrugged as pink tinted his cheeks. "Call it curiosity. It's been awhile."

She huffed. "Curiosity about a certain teenager, more like. This is borderline creeper, Stefan. Don't be a Cullen."

He shook his head and stood. "Not funny."

"I'm hilarious, Salvatore," she called after him as he left.

"That was pretty funny," Damon said with a smirk as he turned their show back on.

***

"Did you see this?" Lucy called into the void of the house as she entered, newspaper in hand. Why the town still had a local paper, she had no idea, but she read it religiously.

The brothers appeared from separate parts of the house. "See what?" Stefan asked.

She folded the paper so the article she'd been reading was on display and handed it over. Stefan's brows furrowed as he read before passing the paper to his brother. "Animal attacks?"

"Well, it wasn't me. And it obviously wasn't Stefan unless he fell off the wagon without mentioning it." Damon tossed the paper onto a nearby table. "So that means..."

"Another vampire is in town," she finished for him. "This is an awfully small town for there to be three vampires here. What are the odds?" Damon's gaze darted between her and his brother and Lucy instantly grew suspicious. "What do you know, Salvatore?"

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair before motioning for the other two to follow him. "My timing in returning to town wasn't coincidental. When I told you Katherine died in the fire at the church, that wasn't exactly true." He poured a glass of bourbon and downed it before continuing. "There's a tomb beneath the church. The vampires were locked inside. Are locked inside. With the return of the comet, it should be possible to open the tomb."

Stefan stared at his brother with wide eyes. "You can't be serious, Damon. We don't know anything about those vampires. Even the few we did know, there's no telling what all that time locked away has done to their mental stability. They could tear this town apart."

Damon held up a hand to cut off his argument. "I had originally intended to rescue Katherine, the rest of them be damned. Now, I don't really give a shit. She can rot with the rest of them. I won't be opening the tomb, little brother."

Lucy arched a brow and poured her own glass of liquor. "What changed your mind?"

"You." His simple answer had her turning in surprise. He laughed at her expression. "Talking to you about her—about everything—made me realize a lot of things. The primary one being that she didn't give a shit about either of us. She got off on playing us against each other. On seeing if we would betray one another for her. It was a power thing. I'm better off without her. Hell, the world is better off."

Stefan pursed his lips as he thought and Lucy wondered if he agreed with his brother or if he was still feeling nostalgic for his old flame. Finally, he nodded once. "Good. Leave her right where she is."

Conversation then moved to finding the vampire feeding and killing near town. Their presence was a threat to the brothers and they would need to be dealt with one way or another. Lucy fell asleep to Stefan playing with her hair while his brother rubbed a hand along the legs she had draped across his lap.

***

A few days later found them once again discussing the vampire as they sat on the couch. Two campers had been killed and there had been an attack at the first day of school bonfire. The brothers had patrolled the woods, but so far they had found nothing. They were all becoming frustrated at the lack of progress.

Lucy was turned on the sofa so her back leaned against Damon's side. He hooked an arm around her to keep her next to him. Stefan sat at the other end and rubbed her feet absently while they talked over the music she had playing in the background. That was probably why none of them were aware of their visitor until she appeared in the doorway.

Lucy tapped Damon's arm while nudging Stefan with her foot at the same time. They glanced at her before following her line of sight to the girl.

"Elena," Stefan exclaimed and Lucy pulled her legs back so he could get up.

When she tried to get up to greet their guest, Damon held her in place. "Nope."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. Stefan led Elena further into the room. "This is my brother Damon and our friend Lucy."

Lucy offered a little wave. "Sorry for the rudeness. Damon's being an ass and won't let me up." She swore she could feel Damon's smirk behind her. Stefan simply chuckled, well used to their antics.

"It's fine." Elena gave a small smile as her gaze darted between the three of them. If the confusion on her face was anything to go by, she was trying to figure out their dynamic. Who exactly they were to one another. "Nice to meet you."

"Yes. It's nice to put a face with the name." Faux sincerity dripped from Damon's voice. Lucy elbowed him even while she smiled and was rewarded with a small grunt and a cough as he choked on his drink. He squeezed slightly, promising retaliation. Stupid vampire.

Stefan shot Damon a look that was clearly a warning to shut up before turning back to his crush. "I apologize, Elena, we were in the middle of something. We should exchange numbers so you can call before you come over next time."

"Harsh," Damon muttered not loud enough to be heard by the girl. Stefan shot them a glare as Lucy bit her lip to hold back a laugh.

Stefan led Elena toward the door and Lucy tuned out their conversation.

"What do you think?" Damon asked.

She shrugged. "She's cute. I can see the appeal."

"You are such a girl. I meant about the vampire problem."

"Was that supposed to be an insult? I am a girl, you know." Annoyance colored her words.

He kissed the top of her head. "I know, Luce. Trust me. I know."

***

Elena came to the boarding house a few more times, but for the most part her and Stefan hung out elsewhere. Truth was, Damon and Lucy weren't seeing much of the younger Salvatore. Not only was he spending as much time as possible with Elena, he'd joined the football team at her insistence. And hadn't Damon had a field day giving his brother shit about that. Lucy thought it brought too much risk for exposure, but what did she know? She was just a human after all. That entire conversation had her rolling her eyes and spending the next two days avoiding the idiot.

The bonus vamp was still leaving a mess around town, the latest victim being the football coach/history teacher. According to Stefan the guy was a raging asshole and no one was sad to see him go so that was something at least.

After making the decision that Lucy needed to get out of the house more, Damon dragged her to the Founder's party. It wasn't exactly her idea of a good time, but it might be interesting and she got to buy a new dress. Damon wore a black suit with a shirt open at the collar while Lucy wore a knee length white dress with large red flowers splashed across it.

Once they arrived at the Lockwood's, he placed a hand on her back to steer her into the house. Fortunately, the mayor and his wife were greeting people at the door. "Come in. Come in."

"What a lovely invitation," Lucy said to Damon with a smile.

"Wasn't it though?" He flashed a smirk as they made their way to the bar.

They mingled and met more people than Lucy could possibly remember throughout the afternoon. They'd seen Stefan and Elena once or twice in passing but didn't run into them properly until night had set in. Elena was in a room full of artifacts looking at the guest registry from the original founder's party.

"Does that say Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?" Elena asked as they joined them.

Stefan looked dumbfounded so Damon took pity on him. "Our namesakes. The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story."

Stefan gave his brother a warning look. "We don't need to get into all that. It's boring."

Lucy smirked and shook her head. Damon apparently thought it was his sworn duty to embarrass his little brother in front of the girl he liked. And Stefan was taking everything far too seriously, as usual.

"It's not boring, Stefan," Elena insisted. "I want to know more about your family."

Damon turned to Lucy with a grin. "You should tell the story. You have such a flair for the dramatic. We couldn't possibly do it justice."

Stefan crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "That sounds like a brilliant idea."

Lucy looked between the two of them with a blank expression. "Why are you like this?"

"Come on, kitten. Elena is waiting for her story," Damon goaded.

"I-It's okay. Really. You don't have to," the girl said, not understanding what was going on between the three companions.

Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's fine. You see, the two Salvatore brothers were the best of friends. They always stood up for on another, covered for one another with their asshole father. Damon bore the brunt of their father's disappointment. He was forced to join the Confederates even though he didn't believe in anything they fought for. A lot of Southern sons were in the same situation. It was shameful for the wealthier families not to do their part after all."

She snatched Damon's drink from his hand and took a swallow, needing the moisture. "When Damon returned from the frontlines, he found a young woman living in his home. Stefan was already smitten and it wasn't long before Damon fell under her spell as well. She played the brothers against each other and loved every moment of it. They only discovered this fact when she was rounded up along with twenty-six other citizens thought to be Union sympathizers. They were herded into the church which was then set on fire. The brothers tried to rescue her and were shot dead by their own father. Their deaths were added to the tally for the Battle of Willow Creek and most people were none the wiser."

Lucy couldn't help a little smirk of triumph when the three people in front of her stared in stunned disbelief. While they'd talked about Katherine, she'd known details they'd never discussed. "Of course, there were a few people there that wrote everything down in a journal. Maybe they left it lying around the living room for a future generation to read."

That earned her a sharp look from Stefan and she shrugged. He should have put it in his room if he didn't want her to read it. That wouldn't have stopped his brother but she, at least, wouldn't snoop in there.

Elena cleared her throat. "That was quite the story. I wasn't aware you were so close to the family. That's great." The strain in her voice said it was anything but.

"Well, I mean, I live with them, so..."

Her eyes widened and Lucy blinked. She had literally been there every time the girl had been over. Why was she so surprised?

"So, are you related or something?"

Lucy shook her head. "Nope. Picked Damon up hitchhiking this summer. I brought him home and they kept me."

"They kept you?"

Damon patted the top of Lucy's head. "Yep. Couldn't stand to be without our little kitten. Life just wouldn't be the same."

She snorted and pushed his arm away so he'd quit patting her. Stefan was smirking but coughed and did his best to maintain a straight face when Elena glanced at him.

"Okay," the girl said, stretching out the word. "I'm just going to go find Caroline. Nice talking to you."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lucy stuck out her bottom lip in a mock pout. "I don't think she liked my story."

Damon tugged her into him so her head rested on his chest. "It's okay, kitten. I liked it."

"Don't call me kitten, Damon."

"Okay, kitten."

"I will literally set you on fire."

"You scare me sometimes, Williams."