Eleanor Gilbert
Chapter 1 - Pilot
Hi guys! I've been reading a lot of these stories lately and I absolutely love them so I decided to write my own.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC.
Please R&R, but mostly, just enjoy!
"Alexandria, what are you doing?" Her friend, Katherine, asked her.
"Katherine, why must you always spoil my fun?" Alexandria Gilbert huffed.
"You keep taking my time with Stefan away, Alexandria. I know you are my best friend but I want my time with Stefan and Damon." Katherine signed, resting her hands on her hips.
"Katherine, you need to stop that. I am your friend and I support your decisions but I won't let you hurt Stefan, he is my best friend." Alexandria turned to look at Katherine, who was looking at herself in the mirror.
"It's just fun, Alexandria, no rules remember?" Katherine smirked before taking off out of the bedroom.
...
Eleanor POV
I shot up out of bed, raising my hand to my forehead, why did I keep having these dreams?
My train of thought was interrupted when my older sister, Elena, walked into my bedroom.
"You're still not up? We have to leave in thirty minutes for school?" Elena told me, putting her toothbrush back into her mouth.
"Ugh." I complained, laying back down and pulling a cushion over my head.
I heard Elena sigh, then I felt my bed dip besides me.
"Ellie, today will be better." She tried. I knew that it wouldn't be. It had been four months since our parents died and every morning since that day, I had woken up and said the exact same thing to myself.
"Why does it sound like you are trying to convince yourself?" I wondered, lifting my cushion from my face to look at Elena.
"Probably because I am. Now come on, Bonnie will be here to get us soon." Elena told me before standing and walking into our joint bathroom.
I was so tempted to go back to sleep, but I was rudely interrupted when Jeremy started arguing with Elena. They had been getting into heated arguments more frequently recently, and I hated it. But deep down, I knew my sister was right, Jeremy was ruining his life with the amount and drugs and alcohol he was consuming.
Eventually, I dragged myself from my comfortable bed and into the shower. It took less than fifteen minutes for me to shower and get dressed. I grabbed my black satchel from my bed and walked out of the room and down the stairs, I was greeted by Elena and coffee in the kitchen.
"Morning, aunt Jenna." I said, leaning over to hug her aunt.
"Right, lunch money?" Jenna asked, reaching into her purse and pulling out a twenty.
"I'm okay." Elena said.
"Yeah, I'm good too." I said, patting my jacket pocket, where I knew I had forty dollars.
Jeremy walked past Jenna, a cup of coffee in his hand, taking the offered twenty dollars on his way past.
"Hey, don't you have a presentation this morning?" I wondered, looking at Jenna.
"Yes, I'm meeting with my thesis advisor... now." Jenna signed, looking at her watch and then reaching up to pull her hair from the bun it was in.
"Good luck!" I cheered for her, taking a sip from my coffee as Jenna rushed towards the door.
Soon enough, Elena and I heard Bonnie pull up outside and we said goodbye to Jeremy before we left the house.
"Hey, guys." Bonnie greeted us as we got into the car.
"Morning, Bon." I said, reaching into my bag to check I had remembered everything.
"You guys okay?" Bonnie asked. Bonnie had been worried about us, we knew she had.
"Fine, just wanting to get this day over and done with." Elena answered for the both of us, knowing we both felt the exact same way.
"You're sure you're ready for school, nobody would blame you if…" Elena cut Bonnie off.
"Bonnie, if we don't go back now, I'm not sure we ever will. Ellie and I just have to suck it up, so does Jeremy." Elena said and I nodded, agreeing with her.
"So, how are your psychic powers Bonnie?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Well, my Grams keeps saying I'm a witch and I just keep thinking 'put the woman in a home already'." Bonnie laughed, Elena and I laughed along with her.
"So, a witch, huh?" Elena raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"Yeah from Salem, but then I started to think about it, I predicted Obama and then I predicted Heath Ledger and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resorts." Bonnie predicted.
I laughed, but both Bonnie and I noticed that Elena was off somewhere in a daze.
"Elena, back in the car." Bonnie said and Elena looked at her, shaking her head, as if to get rid of a thought.
"I did it again, didn't I?" Elena grimaced.
"It's okay, I find myself doing it all of the time." I said, reaching over to rest my hand on my sister's shoulder.
Soon enough, we found ourselves in the school corridor, waiting for our first lesson. Elena, Bonnie and I were talking amongst ourselves when we heard a loud voice.
Caroline.
"Elena! Ellie! Are you okay? Are they okay?" Caroline looked at Bonnie, not us, Elena and I exchanged a look.
"We're right here Caroline, and we're fine." I answered, accepting Caroline's hug when she reached out to embrace me. Elena did the same.
"Catch up with you guys later." Caroline said, walking off down the corridor, her heeled boots clattering as she walked.
Bonnie turned around to close her locker, and when she turned back around Matt Donovan was staring at us.
"Elena, Matt is staring." Bonnie muttered, ducking her head.
Elena and I looked up at the same time to see Matt shoot one more wistful look at Elena before he walked to class.
Elena sighed, reaching up to run her hand through her straight brunette hair.
"Elena, it's not your fault you don't feel the same way, he just needs time." I comforted my sister, wrapping her in a hug.
"I know." Elena murmured.
"Come on, let's go to class."
We turned around to see Bonnie staring at something. She was staring at the person who had just walked into the administration office. He had perfectly done sandy coloured hair, and he was wearing dark blue jeans and a black leather jacket.
"Please be hot." Bonnie muttered to herself.
"Yeah all I see is back." Elena commented, laughing.
I furrowed my eyebrows, why did the person seem so familiar? I had never even met him before.
"Be back in a second." Elena said. I turned to see my sister follow my brother into the men's room.
"What's going on with Jeremy?" Bonnie wondered as she watched the new guy walk from the administration office, I couldn't see his face as he was wearing sunglasses.
"Jer has been doing more and more drugs, Elena and I are really worried about him." I said, her eyes following the familiar new guy. When he walked past us, he froze for a second when he saw me, but carried on walking before anyone noticed. Well, everyone but me.
'Why did he freeze up?' I wondered.
Bonnie and I turned around to walk to class just in time so see Elena and the new guy bump into each other as she walked out of the bathroom.
"See, told you good things would happen to you two." Bonnie smiled at herself before walking off to her first lesson.
Maybe things would be good, but why did I recognise the new guy? And why do I trust him, I've never even met him.
…
Lunch came sooner than expected, something that I was thankful for. I hadn't been able to focus all day. Even though I was yet to have any classes with the new guy, I couldn't shake the feeling I had.
"Hey, sis." Elena said as she sat down at the bench opposite me.
"Hey, Lena." I muttered quietly, pushing around my pasta with my fork.
"How's your day been?" Elena wondered.
"So-so, how about yours, and who was the guy you were talking to this morning?" I asked, smiling knowingly.
"It's been good, and he said his name was Stefan." I froze, Stefan, if Elena noticed my reaction she didn't say anything.
How was it possible, that I recognised the person and he had the same name, what was going on?
I was quiet for the remainder of lunch, Elena noticed, but I convinced her nothing was wrong.
I had biology after lunch. I walked to her locker to collect my book before walking towards my classroom.
I sat at my desk at the back of the room, alone like always. I was startled when the chair beside her scraped along the floor. I looked up to see the person I least expected to see, Stefan.
I squinted and furrowed my eyebrows as he sat down and took off his sunglasses.
Stefan turned around to talk, and smiled when he saw me looking at him quizzically.
"Hey, I'm Stefan. Stefan Salvatore." He introduced himself.
"Oh, I'm Eleanor Gilbert, but my friends just call me Ellie." I ducked my head when I realised I was staring.
"Oh, you're Elena's sister?" Stefan asked, although he didn't sound surprised in the faintest.
"I'm sorry, I need to ask you something. And at the risk of sounding completely insane, have we met before?" I blurted out, Stefan's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Oh, uh, no, I don't think so." He replied.
"Oh, oh, okay." I nodded, expecting the situation to become awkward, but it didn't.
"So, are you coming to the party tonight?" I wondered, we still had some time before the class started.
"The one by the falls?" He asked, I nodded.
"Yeah, you should come, my sister is going to be there." I added and he smiled.
"You like my sister, huh?" I asked forwardly. I couldn't help it, I felt like I had known him for years.
"Well…" Stefan said, raising his hand and using his thumb and index finger to show her 'how much' he liked my sister.
"How many classes do you have together?" I wondered.
"Um, three." He said.
I was about to ask another question when our biology teacher walked in. I sighed and reached for my biology textbook.
…
I was standing in my kitchen eating a bagel when my sister walked through the front door, she looked flustered.
"What's up?" I wondered, eating the last piece of my bagel.
"I bumped into Stefan again at the cemetery." Elena told me as she hung her bag over the stair bannister.
"The cemetery? Oh, how romantic." I joked, giggling.
"Hurry up and eat that, we need to get ready for the party." I said as Elena reached into the fridge.
"Stefan's gonna be there." I commented as I walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
…
An hour and a half later, Elena, Bonnie and I arrived at the party at the falls. This party happened every year, as it was a back to school celebration kind of party.
"Where's Caroline?" Bonnie asked as we walked towards the table where the drinks were.
"Um, she should be here soon if she isn't here now. She said seven." Elena replied, Caroline had called as we were leaving the house.
I reached for a cup.
"Remember, you're not drinking tons tonight." Elena mothered, resting one hand on her hip.
"I know, Elena, I was only going to have one." I rolled my eyes, pouring a bottle of beer into the cup.
"I'll find you in a bit, okay?" I directed her question towards Elena, who nodded.
"Be safe." I nodded before walking off into the crowd.
I smiled when I saw him walking through the entrance.
"Hey, stranger." I said, walking up to him.
"Hey, having a good time?" He wondered.
"I am, Elena is over there." I pointed towards where Elena was standing with Bonnie.
"Let's go, then." He smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder and leading me over to where Elena was. He paused, but only for a second to peer into my cup.
"You're sure you should be drinking?" He asked me, concern lacing his voice.
"I'm only having one, Stefan." I laughed, and he chuckled beside me.
As we got closer to Elena, we could hear her talking to Bonnie.
"…and okay, maybe he is a little pretty." Elena said, ducking her head.
"Who you talking about?" I asked as they got closer, grinning when Elena blushed after noticing Stefan.
"Um, uh, nobody." Elena said quickly, Bonnie was smirking besides her.
We talked amongst ourselves, until Caroline walked over to us.
"Hey, Stefan." She said, failing to notice the others. Elena stiffened and I grinned, I knew my sister had a thing for Stefan.
"Hi, Caroline." Stefan said quietly. I also smiled at that, he found Caroline annoying too.
"How about you take Stefan to see the falls?" I suggested, directing my question at Elena.
Elena nodded slowly and smiled before leading Stefan away.
"She's crushing on him so badly." Bonnie commented, taking a sip of her drink.
"He is for her too." I sighed, I was so happy my sister was allowing herself to be happy again.
I ducked my head, my smile vanishing. I kept on getting the same thoughts, about Stefan and another man. A black haired, blue eyed man named Damon. I didn't know why I kept on getting the dreams and the flashbacks, I had never met Stefan before we saw each other in the hallway. How was it possible Stefan was here and alive? In all of the dreams I had been getting, everything looked like it belonged in a period drama, including Stefan and Damon.
"Something up?" Bonnie noticed me getting quiet.
"Yeah, no, well not really. I keep on having these weird dreams. But never mind, I'll talk to Elena about it." I brushed it off quickly, Bonnie just nodded.
"Do you think something will happen between them?" Bonnie wondered, looking over to where we could see Elena and Stefan talking on the bridge.
I smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I do, he likes her and she likes him. And by the looks of things, Matt looks like he thinks something will happen too." I pointed out, nodding towards where Matt Donovan was openly staring at Stefan and Elena.
"Matt just needs time." Bonnie commented, pulling the sides of her mouth into a thin smile.
A movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned my head and squinted my eyes to try and see better. There was a slight movement in the bushes near the entrance.
"I'll be back in a second." I said quietly, putting my drink down on the table and walking towards where I saw the movement.
I walked through the trees, trying my best to see through the darkness. Then I saw it, saw him. The words had left my mouth before I even thought about saying them.
"Damon." I said. I shook my head after I said it, why would I say that?
The figure turned, his hair and eyes were the exact same as the dreams I had been having.
"So, you remember." He said, his voice was the same too.
"I remember? What exactly is it that I'm remembering?" I asked, resting my hands on my hips, now I was glad I hadn't been drinking much.
"Why don't we go back to my house, it's not far, we can talk there?" He asked, reaching for my hand.
At first, I was confused. How did they know each other?
"We were friends?" I asked, putting my hand in his.
"Something like that."
…
"I'm sorry, I'm a what?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.
I was sitting in the living room of the boarding house with Damon Salvatore, who I now knew was Stefan's brother.
"A doppelgänger." Damon confirmed, reaching for a bottle of bourbon.
I raised my hand to my forehead and closed my eyes. What Damon had just told me was a lot to take in. I crossed my legs underneath me and fell back onto the couch I was sitting on.
Vampires? Doppelgängers? Witches? What was going on?
"And Stefan?" I asked, not raising my hand from my eyes.
"Stefan does not know I'm here yet. Haven't seen him for fifteen years." Damon told her.
So, Stefan was one of them too, how could he not be, I remembered him from 1864.
Damon told me everything. Why I was remembering him and Stefan, about one of my ancestors. That's why he was at the party at the falls, he wanted to make sure that I was not the Alexandria Gilbert he knew back in 1864.
"And how exactly am I a doppelgänger? What about Elena?" I asked another question.
"I actually have no idea, it's a genetic fluke or something. As for Elena, that was Katherine. Katherine was another friend of mine, she's in the tomb under Fells Church with Alexandria." Damon informed me.
"So, and correct me if I'm wrong. You and Stefan are the actual Stefan and Damon Salvatore that were the original settlers here? And then I have a doppelgänger called Alexandria and Elena has a doppelgänger called Katherine?"
"Yep." Damon said, popping the 'p'.
"Right, does Elena know? About Stefan?" I wondered, had my sister known about this?
"I seriously doubt it. Stefan is back in Mystic Falls to live as a human. Elena will find out though, you did." He replied.
"I found out because you were lurking in the woods, if I hadn't saw you I wouldn't know any of this."
"You don't seem afraid." Damon stated, confused.
"Well, that's because I'm not. If you were going to hurt me, you would have done it already." I commented, sitting up and looking at Damon.
"True." Damon contemplated my idea, cocking his head to one side.
"Don't try to act cute Damon, the look doesn't suit you." I told him and he frowned.
"But, seriously, you should be going. I need to greet my brother when he gets back, any ideas?"
"Yeah, one. Don't kill one another. Stefan was my best friend back then, I'm sure I can find a piece of wood sharp enough to stab you with." I turned and smiled at him innocently.
I smiled and turned when the front door opened behind me to reveal Stefan.
"Ellie?" He asked, obviously confused as to why I was in his house so late.
"Stefan, have fun with my sister?" I smirked when he smiled and ducked his head.
"What are you doing here? Elena is looking for you?" He asked me, furrowing his eyebrows together.
"Getting filled in, good to see you again, Stef." He was confused for a second before a look of realisation appeared on his face.
"You know?" He accused mildly, "how?"
"Guilty." Stefan froze when he heard Damon's voice.
"Damon." Stefan sighed, I put my hand on his shoulder. Even though I had only met him a few days ago, I knew the bond we had all of those years ago, had been restored.
"Hello, Brother." Damon smirked and I rolled her eyes.
"Now I'm going, don't kill each other and don't argue. Stefan pick me up for school tomorrow, we need to catch up?" I asked and he nodded. Stefan hugged me tightly before I walked out of the house.
It didn't take me long to walk back home from the boarding house, but when I got there I was greeted by Elena and Jeremy. Jeremy looked terrible, his eyes were red and he had tear marks streaming down his face.
"Jer, what happened?" I cried, reaching for my brother, I embraced him tightly.
Jeremy didn't say anything so I looked to Elena for answers.
"Vicki Donovan was attacked in the woods, some kind of animal. We were so worried you were hurt too, why weren't you answering your phone?" Elena fumed, calming once she pulled me into a hug.
"I was with a friend." I brushed it off quickly, Elena pulled back to look at me.
"A friend?" Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, a friend. He's a relatively new friend." I turned to see Jeremy had disappeared upstairs.
"And who is this relatively new friend?"
"Damon Salvatore." I said, then winced when a look of confusion appeared on my sister's face. Stefan hadn't told her about Damon.
"Damon Salvatore? As in Stefan Salvatore?" She asked me, confused.
"Yes, the very same. Damon said they don't get on and Stefan doesn't even know Damon is in town yet, so don't be mad at him." I asked her, knowing how my sister would react.
"How do you know the two of them?" Elena asked and I froze, how was I supposed to explain?
"Well, I have classes with Stefan and I met Damon at the party." I told her innocently, hoping she wouldn't notice I was lying to her.
"Okay, I'm going to check on Jeremy and then I'm going to bed, night." Elena said and I sighed, she hadn't saw through the lie.
Once Elena was upstairs I filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to heat.
Wait a second.
Vicki was attacked by an animal at the party? Damon.
I quickly pulled my cell phone from my pocket and opened my contacts, dialling the number Damon had given me.
"Hey, Ellie." Damon said as he answered the call.
"Don't get cute with me Damon Salvatore, what exactly did you do to Vicky Donovan?" I demanded quietly through my teeth, not wanting anyone to hear our conversation.
"Oh, is that what that girls name was?" Damon asked offhandedly.
"Damon, you can't come into town and do this, that girl is my brothers friend." I told him, trying to keep my voice down.
"Ellie, are you lecturing me? But you love me?" I could practically hear him pouting.
"Damon, you can't do this, so yes I am lecturing you. One more person hurt and I'm never talking to you again. Why can't you be more like your brother?" I cried quietly, I heard Stefan laugh in the background.
"Saint Stefan? What should I do then Ellie? Walk around acting human and wearing a while hat?" Damon asked incredulously.
"Damon, I expect none of those things from you. Hell, I'm not even mad at you for attacking Vicki Donovan because I know you Damon. I'm not asking you to wear a white hat and call yourself a saint, I just want you to be normal, be the Damon I knew back in 1864 and maybe I'll 'love' you again." I tried, praying he was listening.
He was quiet for a few moments, I knew the line hadn't gone dead because I could hear Stefan in the background.
"Damon?" I said.
"Okay, Ellie. Goodnight." He said before the line went dead. I took the phone away from my ear and sighed, finishing my tea before heading up to bed.