It's Been a Long, Long Time (tvd)

Chapter 1: Home

I drive past the "Welcome to Mystic Falls" sign in my white 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, blasting Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel in anticipation to see my best friend, I start to hum along to the song.

I pull up to the Salvatore Boarding House and park in the driveway. I listen and realize that no one is home. It's a tad annoying, but the surprise will still work. I walk up to the front door and open it with the key they gave me in 1915. Entering the house, I walk into the sitting room and fling my bag on a couch. Then, I walk over to Damon's secret alcohol stash and grab one of his nice bourbons. He hasn't changed the hiding spot in over a hundred years. Most people know the hiding spot. Like if you want it to be secret, change the hiding spot.

I pour myself a glass and flop unceremoniously on the couch. I zone out in boredom, staring at the ceiling. I'm snapped out of my daydreaming by the sound of the front door opening. I speed into the kitchen and peek out into the hallway. I see Damon, Stefan, and some brunette who is blocked from my view by Stefan.

"Who's car was that?" I hear Stefan ask. No answer is given and when they turn into the living room, Stefan speaks up again, "Doesn't that bag belong to-"

I take that as my cue and cut him off when I run up behind Damon and jump on his back, covering his eyes and saying "Guess who, dumbass." I jump down and he turns to face me.

"Penny," he exclaims. I jump up on him again, wrapping my legs around his waist, giving him a big hug. "I missed you," he whispers in my ear.

"I missed you too," I whisper. I pull away to look him in the face and slap the side of his head. "That's for not texting or calling for a year. Also, I bet your ego could use it," I say with a bit of sarcasm. He lets me down and brings me into another hug.

"Fair enough," he mutters.

I pull back again and look in his eyes asking, "How have you been?"

"I've been alright," he says with a bittersweet smile. It turns into pure happiness when he says "I'm much better now that I've got my Pen though. How long are you staying?"

"I don't know, maybe a few weeks," I say, unsure since I didn't think that far ahead.

Damon whines, "Only?"

"I can stay longer, but we'll have to see," I reply.

Someone clears their throat from the living room. I look past Damon to see Stefan by the console table behind the couch, and a doppelgänger in one of the chairs. I know it isn't Katherine because she wouldn't dress so innocently and wear a light blue sweater. I look back to Stefan and vamp-speed over to him, tackling him onto the floor in a hug. "Stefan," I say happily, "have you been watching over this psycho dumbass?" I point to Damon.

"Eh," Stefan replies. I get up and offer him a hand, which he takes, and help him up. "How have you been Pen?"

"I've been alright, much happier now that I'm with my two favorite Salvatores," I smile.

"Who is she," the doppelgänger asks Stefan looking at me with suspicion.

I refrain from rolling my eyes. "I'm Aspen Bell."

"Elena Gilbert, Stefan's girlfriend,"

She's seriously threatened by me?

She looks me up and down in a judging manner. "How do you know each other?"

I know I'm pretty but jealous much? "I met them when Stefan was 7 and Damon was 15. In other words, when we were still human. Also, no need to be jealous, if something was gonna happen between Stefan and I, it would have happened by now. Plus, I think of him kinda as a younger brother."

"Oh," Elena says. "So how old are you?"

"I'm 168 in vampire years, I was turned at 21, so I met Damon and Stefan when I was 11. I remember our parents trying to get us to date a few years later. They didn't stop until after four years when they realized we weren't going to date and that we were only best friends."

Damon puts his hand over his heart, feigning sadness. "I thought we were in love. The wedding is in 50 years. We had it all planned: a wedding on a cliff overlooking the sea with an Elvis impersonator singing our first dance as a married couple. Does my love for you not mean anything?" He wipes a fake tear from his cheek.

I vamp speed to him and smack him upside the head and mutter, "Asshole." I then run up the stairs.

"I HEARD THAT!" He yells, running after me.

"I KNOW," I shout back.

⇢⇢⇢⇢

Elena and Stefan left a while ago, after she questioned him about me and his relation to me. You should trust your boyfriend more, right? Like especially Stefan. He's loyal as hell.

Now I'm laying in Damon's room in his bed with him, watching a movie. He's catching me up on all of the supernatural drama and I can't help but roll my eyes at the shit that has happened in the past and is happening now with Elena and Katherine. The brothers keep getting used and manipulated and no matter how much I warn them, they don't listen because they're lovesick dumbassess. I mean that in the most loving way possible.

Damon mentioned a masquerade ball that's tomorrow and asked me to be his plus one. With a little convincing, I said yes.

As I was about to fall asleep, Stefan comes into the room and flops onto the bed, placing his head in my lap. I groan, "I was about to fall asleep."

He ignores my comment. "I just spent the past 2 hours convincing Elena that we don't have any romantic or sexual relationship whatsoever and never have, but I have a feeling she still doesn't believe me."

"Jeez, really? Either she jumps to conclusions way too quickly, or she has had a cheating shithead ex," I mutter.

"Nope, she just is too quick to jump to conclusions," Damon says.

Stefan grabs a pillow and stuffs his face in it, his screams of anger muffled by the pillow.

"I'm going to sleep," I whisper, yawning and cuddling more into Damon.