Nova's Semester

Chapter 1

She was always used to being in Elena's shadow. She didn't mind as much as some might think, Nova quite liked being in the shadows rather than being the center of attention. So, it didn't phase her, but she wasn't oblivious to how annoying it all was in retrospect. Jeremy walked across the kitchen to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk jug and drank straight from it. "Really, Jer?" Elena appeared back in the doorway with two men standing behind her. "Don't drink from the jug, it's disgusting,'' Jeremy rolls his eyes, capping the jug and walking past Elena and then the men behind her, up the stairs without saying a word. If Nova thought, her and Elena's relationship was strained Jeremy and Elena's relationship was practically non-existent.

"Damn who pissed in his cheerios?" Elena walks further into the kitchen to reveal the body to the voice she just heard, Damon Salvatore, and not too far behind him his brother Stefan was also there, 'lovely' she thought. Damon and Stefan both stepped into the fresh hold of the kitchen, Stefan turning to move towards Elena and Damon opting to take a seat at the dinner table next to Nova. "Wacha working on Sparky?" Damon slouches down to peer at the paper in front of Nova while pushing his side into her shoulder. Elena steps in and answers Nova's question for him. "Leave her alone, Damon, she needs to focus on the paper." Damon sways back to his seat and raises a brow at Nova. "What's so imperative that she doesn't have time to spend with lil' ol' me?" he bats his eyes at Elena and she just rolls her eyes "Nova decided to neglect to make her schedule for school, so she's doing that now so leave her alone Damon." Damon puts his hands up in surrender standing from his chair and turning towards the entrance of the living room "I'll go get your luggage then." Nova turns around to ask Elena what he was talking about, only to be met with the image of Stefan with his tongue down Elena's throat. "God, guys really, I'm right here get a room" Stefan and Elena break apart and Stefan has at least a shred of decency to look sorry but Elena just smiled "We are in a room Nov, you're just in it."

Nova chooses to ignore the nickname and ask her original question as she hears Damon clobbering down the stairs with Elena's suitcases. "Elena, what did Damon mean by luggage, and why is he bringing all of it downstairs?" Elena just cocks her head and furrows her brows, a common notion of when she's going to start being bitchy. "Nova, I'm going on a trip to the lake house with Stefan and Damon?" Typically, Nova wouldn't be fazed when her sister was being a bitch or when the Salvatores would come to steal her sister. The fact that she wasn't told this time and that it was the family lake house irked her a little. "Elena what are you talking about, what trip, you never said you were going on a trip," "What do you mean Nova, I literally told you this last week." Nova was floored not only did Elena not tell her she was going on a trip she was trying to gaslight her about it. "No Elena, you didn't tell me a single thing about leaving this weekend." Before Nova could ask for an explanation Elena cut her off "Nova we literally talked about this last week I promise you, and even if I somehow forgot to tell you it's not a problem, right?" Nova blinked and pondered what would be the outcome of the argument if she just continued to push it. "No, Elena it's not but-," "Then everything should be good right? I'm leaving money on the stove for food. Use it sparingly please." Elena walks up to Nova and captures her in a hug "I'll be back in three days ok?" "Yeah, ok." Elena pulls back from the hug and gives her a small smile.

Elena turns to Stefan "Are you ready to go?" "Ready whenever you are." Stefan starts to escort Elena out of the house, to the car where Damon was putting up Elena's luggage. "Ok, one more hug." Elena turns to hug Nova one last time, muttering a quick love you, before she yells into the space behind her "I'm leaving Jer your in charge of Nova make sure she stays safe, love you!" a faint "Sure' can be heard from the tops of the stairs. Elena knows that all she'll get out of him, seemingly satisfied, turns towards the brothers "Alright let's go." Nova stands numbly at the door as she watches her sister speed off with the brothers. Nova stands in the doorway for a few more minutes processing what just happened. Turning and closing the door behind her she instead chose to focus on remembering what she was doing in the first place before the hectic interruption. She walks into the kitchen and spots the piece of paper seemingly forgotten on the floor. She picks up her paper off the floor and smiles to herself. ''Hey if Elena's not going to be here for three whole days, no way in hell I'm going to do this today" she thinks to herself, deciding to take advantage of her sister's sudden leave. So, she leaves the paper on the table and decides to travel up the stairs and to her brother's room. Knocking on the door she waits a few seconds, hearing him shuffle around before opening it. Without a word he just steps aside and lets her in, as he goes over to the corner of his room to collect his stuff from his nightstand

. Nova drops down onto his bed with a huff. "Did you know Elena was going on a trip to the Lakehouse?" "Yes, and No," is his answer. "She kind of told me she was going somewhere but didn't say when or wear, why?" Nova brings her hands up to her face and pulls them down pulling her face along with them. "Because I only just found out not even five minutes ago." Jeremy bends back over his nightstand and stands back up bringing up his jar of weed with him. He sits on the bed opening the jar and shaking his head. "She's just something else, isn't she?" he complains, dumping a couple of buds from the jar into his hands and onto his tray. "I really wish she would stop telling me to be an adult and then turn around and treat me like a child." Nova watched as her brother rolled them both a joint as she also explained the events that just happened moments before. "Honestly kid, I just had to accept that Elena is her own person and will do whatever she wants, regardless of the consequences." Nova ponders over her brother's words as they pass the joint between them.

Jeremy lets out the last of the smoke inhaled from the last joint and takes a deep breath. "Alright, Nova I've got some plans of my own tonight so I'm kicking you out so I can get ready." Nova laughed as she got up from his bed "Ok, I think I'm going to go skate if that's ok with you?" He nods his head, leaning his head against his pillows enjoying his high "Just make sure to be careful, watch for cars, and be safe." "I'll be, I always am." She says as she leaves his room entering hers only long enough to grab her skateboard, phone, jacket, and headphones before all but sprinting down the stairs "Love you Jer see you later," she waited long enough to get a response from him before she ran out the door skating her way down the road not knowing where she was going only knowing she wanted to be anywhere but home.