The Wish Factory

Chapter 8

This is the last chapter of Vampire Diaries for a while.

The next few days were uneventful, but there was a tension in the air as everyone waited for what was going to happen next. They hadn't seen or heard from the hunter, so they kept a low profile. Rebekah's party was scheduled for the last Saturday of the month, on her one-month anniversary of being in Mystic Falls. Gradually, she fell into a very comfortable routine. The first weekend, she had a sleepover at Elena's house, though Stefan and Damon were outside the whole time making sure Connor didn't make an appearance. Ryleigh had never experienced anything like this before, not having had any real close friends where she was from, and it was a nice feeling. They talked about boys, caught each other up on their lives, and cried about the people they'd lost. By the third week, the party was growing closer, and she began to become more and more apprehensive. They were in entirely new territory because the show had been entirely different and she hadn't gotten any new visions.

During the week of the party, on Wednesday before, she was sitting next to Matt during Science class, she was extremely nervous about the upcoming weekend. She was also very frustrated because, since that day at the Salvatore's, Matt had been dodging her. He kept the conversations to a minimum and kept his text replies down to three words or less. She hadn't re-encountered Elijah, and she was more than a little grateful. That electrical current that had passed between them had been strange and intense. Maybe they were avoiding each other, but whatever the reason, she was glad to be free of that drama for the time being. When their science class was over, signaling their lunch period, Ryleigh stopped Matt, who was trying to make a quick exit.

"Matt, please stop avoiding me and tell me what I did wrong. You haven't talked to me in over two weeks, and I've gone long enough with radio silence from my friends." His features immediately softened, and he sighed, resigned to the situation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shut you out again. Let's go outside, and we'll talk." Glad that he was finally acknowledging her presence, she followed him out to the common picnic table on the lawn and sat opposite him. Matt pulled two peanut butter sandwiches out of his pack and offered one to her. She smiled as she accepted it and waited for him to begin, not wanting to push. He took a bite first before looking her in the eye.

"I guess I liked having something normal in my life for a change, but then you just fit in so comfortably with them and all of that. Plus, you and that Elijah guy had that weird stare off and it seemed to be going somewhere, so I backed off. I hate all this vampire crap and how it's infected every aspect of my life. I guess I was just disappointed that you got pulled into it too, and almost immediately." She knew exactly what he meant as he explained why he'd kept his distance. Matt's life was incredibly difficult with his absentee mom, school, and having to support himself. From watching the show, his friends always seem to push him to the side, and he never got a happy ending. It was probably the main reason that their friendship was so easy, they were very similar. She leaned forward and took his free hand in hers.

"Trust me; I didn't expect any of that to happen, I mean who would guess that vampires were real? The witch thing was completely out of left field too, and I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time. I can't lose you as a friend, Matt; your friendship means too much to me. You and I are kindred spirits with our absent families and outsiders to the circle of friends that we belong to. We've known each other too long to let something come between us. Also, the Elijah and me thing, that's never going to happen. The guy is like a thousand years old, and I'm only eighteen and interested in the living." This got a laugh from him, and the tension began to diffuse around them. He squeezed her hand back and didn't take his eyes off hers as he replied.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that. The other girls are so enamored with the whole vamp thing, and I just wish they'd all go away...well okay maybe not Caroline, but still." She gave him a sad, knowing smile.