when the party's over | elena gilbert

01|PILOT

Gemma leans against a tree near the road, her arms crossed and her dark eyes trained on her brother. "What's the point of this again?" She asks dryly, letting her head loll back so she can see the stars.

"Well," he begins in a dramatic fashion— as Damon Salvatore always does. "It messes with Stefan—and the fear of the townspeople is just a plus."

Gemma feels her eyebrows raise. "Townspeople, meaning Elena Gilbert?"

Gemma still remembers the day she waltzed back into town, unsuspecting and unknowing of the existence of a certain Katherine Pierce look-alike. It gave her quite a shock, although she knew it couldn't have been her late best friend.

Damon looks up at the sound of the girl's name, a conflicted expression adorning his face. "I have no idea what you mean, Gemma."

Gemma and Damon stare at each other with blank expressions, their icy eyes challenging. The female Salvatore is the first to relent, her eyes darting back toward the stars. "Okay," she says.

She sees Damon perk up out of the corner of her eye—the nearing car meaning he gets to complete his mission for the night. He shoots Gemma a look—one that says 'stay out of sight or else I'll wring your neck'—and uses his vampire speed to stand in the middle of the road.

Gemma—following her brother's instructions like the good little soldier she is—presses herself closer to the tree. A feeling of guilt washes over her but she quickly brushes it off, keeping her eyes focused above her.

"What's with all the fog?" A feminine voice rings out, causing Gemma to tilt her head in the direction of the oncoming car. They were close—if she could hear their conversation, that is.

"It'll clear in a second," the man assures the girl.

There's a beat of silence before the woman lets out a choked scream of, "Watch out!"

Although it was in the plan for Damon to get ran over all along, Gemma still flinches at the sickening crunch that fills the air. Her eyes slip closed and she allows herself to listen to the screeching of the vehicle brakes, along with the panicked mumbling of the couple.

"Are you okay?" The man questions frantically.

"We just hit someone!" The woman exclaims, her voice shaking. "Oh my god!"

"Call for help," he tells her before shuffling out of the vehicle. Gemma briefly wonders if she should yell for him to turn back, or sweep he and his girlfriend away from Damon.

"Come on, come on!" The girl mutters in a haste. Gemma assumes the phone isn't working, what with them being in the middle of the woods and all.

"Please be alive!" The man says more to himself then Damon. He falls silent and there's a quiet movement, as if the man had gotten a closer look. "Oh, my god."

Gemma's eyes snap open at the sound of horrified realization in the man's voice. Death is a scary thing, she supposes. The human lets out another sound—this time, it's more choked and gurgled. The female Salvatore sighs heavily at the obvious murder.

A second car door opens and the girl calls out, "There's no signal!" After not getting a response from her boyfriend, "Darren! Darren?"

Gemma hears a thump, followed by a shrill scream. Her eyes instinctively squint in annoyance at the sound but it quickly gets cut off as Damon kills the girl. Not long after the double murder, he saunters back over to his sister with a sinister smirk. "Enjoy the show?"