•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

"Thanks," Bonnie Bennett smiles at her friend as he passes along the fresh bag of french fries and burgers over the bar.

"Sure," Matt Donovan returns the smile, leaning his elbows on the wooden counter. "Who's the extra burger for?"

"Elena," Bonnie replies, popping a fry in her mouth. "She's at the Salvatores, and they don't have any food."

"Tell her I say hi," Bonnie agrees and says a quick goodbye to Matt, before making her way towards the exit of the Grill. She catches the eye of Sheriff Forbes, who stands talking to a hooded woman, and decides to go and say hello.

"Hey Sheriff," She smiles kindly.

"Bonnie! How are you and you're dad?"

"We're doing good," Bonnie nods politely, glancing at the woman besides the Sheriff. As soon as their eyes meet, the young witch feels an unsettling chill run down her spine.

The woman is young, by the looks of it, yet has an old and mysterious aura about her. Standing an inch or two above Bonnie, but still shorter than the Sherriff. She has eyes the color of dewy grass, pale and green, with an unsettling hardness within them. Her dark brown curls cascade down her shoulder and cut short right above her chest. But what stands out most is the necklace hanging around her neck. A deep purple talisman, encased in a murky silver and hanging from a similar silver chain. It pops out against her smooth, caramel skin tone, and almost draws Bonnie towards it.

"I don't think we've met," The Bennett isn't sure why she decides to introduce herself, but before she knows it, she's extending her hand toward the strange woman. Something about her gives Bonnie a bad feeling, so she may as well get a psychic reading on her while she can. "I'm Bonnie Bennett."

"Arabella," She clasps her hand around Bonnie's, who immediately attempts to see something-- anything-- about her. However, she comes back with... nothing. Absolutely nothing, as if this girl is blocking her out. "Arabella Salvatore."

Bonnie's polite smile immediately drops, her eyes widening. "Did you say Salvatore?"

"Arabella here was just telling me how she came to town to visit her brothers," Sheriff Forbes explains. "You know Stefan, right Bonnie?" The witch can only nod, swallowing.

"I should actually get going, I have to meet a, uh, friend," Bonnie stutters out, tightening her grip on the bag of food. As soon as she's able to leave the two, she whips out her phone and dials Elena's number. "Elena, you are not going to believe who I just met."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

"And she said she was their sister?" Elena's brows furrow at her best friend, who stands at the doorstep of the Salvatore Boarding house. Bonnie nods quickly.

"Yes. But that wasn't even the worst part. I couldn't get a read on her, Elena. Like she was blocking me or something. I've only ever known that to happen with other witches," She hisses, quickly glancing behind her to make sure there are no new visitors.

"So she's a witch?" Elena confirms, sighing. "And obviously lying."

"Obviously?"

"Well, Stefan would've told me if he had a sister. So she must be lying," Elena decides, setting her portion of the food down on a table.

"Or Stefan just didn't tell you," Bonnie points out, crossing her arms.

"Why wouldn't he tell me he has a sister?" Elena shakes her head, refusing to believe her boyfriend has kept something this big from her. "And besides, Damon wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut about having a sister for this long. One of them would've mentioned something."

"Just... be careful, Elena. Whoever she is, I really didn't get a good feeling from her," Bonnie sighs, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "And her name sounded so familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. I'm gonna go home and see if my Grams mentions her anywhere."

"Okay," Elena nods, giving her friend a small smile. "Thanks for the food. And the warning, I guess," The both laugh wearily, before the witch turns and walks back to her car. Elena lets out a soft breath, shutting the door and grabbing her food and phone, texting Stefan to call her. She won't make any accusations, but something about all this seems odd. Why wouldn't Stefan tell her if he had a sister? It makes no sense. Which means whoever this 'Arabella' is, she's lying.

Elena is almost finished with her food when she hears the click of the front door. She cleans off her hands and gets up to go greet whichever of the Salvatore brothers have finally come home, but stops in her tracks when a rather feminine voice fills the empty silence of the house.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Arabella walks calmly into the Boarding House, her hands tucked into the pockets of her long, black trench coat. She stops suddenly, one thick brow slowly raising. "I can hear you. Your heart is beating like a drum. You one of Damon's girls?" She tilts her head slightly, pursing her full lips. "You can come out of the shadows. I don't bite. Usually."

Elena tiptoes towards a cabinet and pulls out a wooden stake she knows resides in there, clutching it tightly to her chest as some form of protection. No matter the species, a wooden stake to the heart generally seems to do the trick. In a swift motion, she jumps out into the hallway, confusion overtaking her as she finds it empty. Suddenly the stake in her hand begins to heat up, so much that Elena drops it on the floor and jumps back, watching in wide eyes as it bursts into flames on the floor.

"Hope you weren't planning on using that on me. That would be rather rude."

She whips around, her dark eyes widening even more when she finds a woman matching Bonnie's description standing there, holding one hand up, her eyes glowing a deep purple. As soon as their eyes meet, a terrifying hatred swirls within Arabella's eyes as they darken to a deep red around her violet irises, dark veins hungrily protruding beneath them. Before Elena can even blink, Arabella has sped across the room and wrapped her fingers around her neck, slamming her up against the wall.

"Katherine," She spits, glaring darkly at Elena as she struggles to breathe. "Stefan told me you were back but I didn't actually believe it. I guess a bitch like you never stays dead, huh?"

Elena tries to choke out an explanation, but it only comes out in sputtered coughs. Arabella's eyes darken as she holds up another hand, ready to kill the doppelganger. However, she's immediately thrown across the hall, leaving Elena to fall to the ground.

"Elena!" Elena looks up at her savior, finding a worrisome Stefan standing over her. He quickly kneels to the ground to make sure she's alright.

"What the hell are you doing?" Arabella jumps up.

"This isn't Katherine, it's her doppelganger," Stefan helps his girlfriend up, who gives him a nod to let him know she's alright. "Elena Gilbert. She's human."

Arabella's eyes, which have gone back to their pale green, widen in shock. "Her what?" She glances at Elena, holding her hands up. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I honestly had no idea."

"I'm fine," Elena gives her a tight, forced smile, rubbing her neck cautiously. She's shocked at how quickly this woman went from being terrifying and murderous to regretful and apologetic. Stefan looks up, meeting Arabella's eyes for a moment with a hard-set expression. In a second, however, a smile breaks across both of their faces as they rejoice in a tight hug.

"God, I missed you. Did you get a haircut?" Arabella steps back, reaching and messing up Stefan's light brown locks. He swats her hand away, rolling his eyes.

"You said that just to mess it up, didn't you?"

"Damon texted me saying he would give me five bucks if I messed up your 'hero hair'," Arabella uses quotations, shrugging and stepping back.

"Worth every penny," Damon smirks as he walks into the house, holding his hands out for a hug. "Long time no see, little sister."

Arabella returns the smirk, walking forward to her eldest brother. However, instead of giving him the hug he expects, her hand fists up and locks with his jaw.

"Ow!" Damon groans, rubbing the healing bruise. "What the hell was that for?"

"Lexi," Arabella raises a brow at him, noticing the grateful smile Stefan sends his way. As soon as Damon straightens up, she holds a hand out. "Pay up."

Damon rolls his eyes and shoves a five dollar bill into her hand. "Like you don't have enough money already," He mutters.

"Well you would too if you had an actual job," Arabella points out, crossing her arms. "Some of us don't just sit around drinking blood and bourbon all day."

"Don't act like you didn't miss my unique lifestyle," Damon scoffs, earning a nudge from his sister. Elena stares between the three of them, clearly confused.

"Wait, I'm sorry, can someone please explain to me what's going on here?" She steps forward, swallowing. "There's another Salvatore? That's alive?"

"Well, I wouldn't say alive," Arabella laughs, tucking her hands into her coat pockets. "Sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm Arabella. The only Salvatore with a brain."

"She's our very annoying little sister," Damon adds, rolling his eyes at her last statement.

"The annoying little half sister who's saved your ass a multitude of times."

"Likewise, smartass."

Stefan watches the two bicker with an amused and content smile, feeling a warmth in his heart at having his siblings all back under one roof. It's been far too long.

"I need a drink," Arabella announces, clapping her hands together while turning to Elena. "And I have some questions for you, Doppelganger."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Author's Note:

Hey, hope you like it so far! Just be warned, in order to introduce Arabella properly, Klaus doesn't come in for a few chapters, and again, it's a slow burn enemies-to-lovers kind of story, so be patient! I promise it's worth it ;)

-Athena