Beauty and Blood

Unpleasantville

December 7th, 2009

Once upon a time, it would have been a rare sight for Andy to be awake when the sun rose in the slowly brightening sky. Now it was the standard. Despite the bone-deep exhaustion that made her eyelids droop and head pound, she couldn't help but admire how the orange beams bounced off of the rich dark woods and brick that made up the kitchen of the Salvatore Boarding House. She had the perfect view sitting at the grand spruce dining table, the winter rays shining through the small-ish windows opposite to greet her as she munched on her very early morning breakfast, it being the only source of light as she hadn't bothered turning anything on other than what she needed.

The chocolate chip pancakes had been a tad tricky to make in the pitch black but she'd managed it. She savoured the warmth the sugary cup of coffee in her hands radiated in the cold kitchen. Clearly the insulation hadn't been seen to and the inhabitants depended on the multitude of open fireplaces that seemed to be a necessity in every room. As the room slowly got brighter and brighter as the sun got higher and higher, she couldn't help but think of the events the few days previous that had brought her to that moment.

After the dramatic and draining start to the day with arguments and revelations, she hadn't wanted to go home, nevermind school. So Stefan had offered to let her stay at the Boarding House however long she'd wanted. Thankfully he'd taken initiative after her despondent nod to text Jenna for her, then used his vampire speed to carry her to the house far too large to truly be a home. Andy had taken one look at the vehicles and nearly spiralled again at the thought of spending a second in either metal death trap. Once again, she had been too distracted to give the historic building the proper admiration it deserved.

Damon had been thankfully absent, probably gone to the Mystic Grill for either a celebratory or commiserating drink depending on what he'd gone to Atlanta for. Andy had mentioned to Stefan that Lexi had been there keeping an eye on things, and told him to ask the blonde for the pictures of Lee beating Damon up. But other than that she had been content sitting in mute silence as she felt her emotions writhe in her stomach like a nest of angry snakes, thoughts so cluttered they had cancelled each other out and left white noise, focusing only on breathing evenly to distract from the taunting drumming in her chest.

Stefan had left her in the room she'd stayed in the night after the Founder's Party, and she had been quick to fall into dreamless sleep for a much needed nap. When she had woken up half an hour later it was to texts from Caroline, Bonnie, and Jeremy asking where she was, one from Elena apologising for dropping the adoption bomb on her like that, and another from Jenna saying she understood Andy needed time to process everything. There had even been one from Walter checking in on her. After replying to the necessary messages, she'd burrowed back under the covers and resigned herself to skipping what little was left of the school week.

After three whole days of moping Stefan had checked in on her, requesting her help in harvesting the vervain that was finally ready to use to protect her friends and family. She had known it was in an effort to keep her mind occupied and get her out of bed, because she didn't have a green thumb in the slightest, but she had gladly taken the opportunity to beat back the tsunami of reality before it crashed over her. That and he couldn't actually touch the stuff without it burning him. When they'd finally finished gathering the herbs, Stefan had practically dragged her to the kitchen and forced her to sit down as he made her french crepes with honey and a mug of hot chocolate for brunch, a very thinly veiled attempt at lifting her spirits whilst getting her to finally eat something.

For the rest of the day she had spent finally investigating the grand library, curled up in the cosy and musty antique leather armchair by the roaring fire, Stefan in the one opposite her happy to just sit in silence as she had pretended to read the pages in her hand. Eventually night finally fell, and he had left to go give Elena the fruits of their labour after making Andy macaroni and cheese with a side of garlic bread from scratch for dinner. She'd retreated back to what she'd claimed as her room, staring at the ceiling as she laid under the covers.