Chapter 1: Chapter 1
It had been five years since Elena, Stefan, Damon, Caroline, and Bonnie had been in the same room. Supernatural forces had worked in their favor and brought them together. Thoughts of the past and present weighed on everyone's mind no matter how happy they seemed on the surface. All of them had a secret that could destroy each other yet none spoke it out loud. Outside of the party, a storm began to gather that would shake the group to it's core for their silence would have consequences.
Stefan and Elena had moved near Hollywood in an attempt to hide away from Klaus. Elena purposely hung around with look-alikes and learned how she could change herself to find some happiness. A happy accident had happened, Elena had found herself pregnant. It was the reason that everyone had gathered that day. The mystic gang came to greet the little pieces of happiness in a world that had been decimated with death.
Elena found herself wearing a true smile for once and so was her husband, Stefan. It was Stefan and Damon's idea to throw a party for a weekend. Her husband was so cautious about everything that she was shocked that he even agreed to show their friends where they lived yet she didn't even question it, for she feared to sour the mood. Among each other the new parents joked about being cursed as every time they were all together something bad happened before everyone arrived. After the laughter faded, a solemn feeling descended upon her that stayed even as she sat at her own party.
In a rustic town that was far enough from the glitz and glam of Hollywood contained a small house hidden away in the woods. The design made it's occupants fill with longing. It wasn't as big as the boarding house but it was filled with happiness. Elena couldn't be more excited to have her friends within her home, the party she held for her miracles so she tried to push away thoughts of those who didn't show. Jeremy had slowly drifted away as he got older, constantly searching for some normalcy. Elena hoped he would see his niece and nephew but nothing could get him in the same room with her. It was the same with some of the group's other friends like Matt and Tyler. She hated how much her life had changed but California was a good idea. If she had never come she may never have lived. As the party continued, she found herself constantly reminding her of the fact.
A few weeks ago she had given birth to fraternal twins, Arianna and Anthony. "It's just the stress. Nothing more" she whispered to herself over and over again. Her hair made her even more uncomfortable among her friends. Now blonde like Caroline's it made her feel like a stranger even when she looked into the mirror. Between the small wrinkles around her eyes that had developed from running from Klaus, she was slowly changing into someone else. Her gaze turned to Bonnie who seemed surprisingly the same, their eyes briefly met. Elena smiled and sipped her drink in the corner.
Bonnie smiled like she had gone to disneyland while touching her friend's newborn twins. Years have gone by but the threats never seem to fade into history for Bonnie but Elena finally had the life she deserved. Streamers littered the floor of the new Salvatore home as if it was new year eve. A change of atmosphere was definitively , her phone barely had service as a certain person had taken to spam texting her every minute. Sometimes she wondered if he wanted her to get caught to just mock her shame. Her secret needed to stay in Mystic Falls where it belonged.
Bonnie had stayed in Mystic Falls to protect the townspeople from the hybrids that constantly visited the town. Bonnie tried to relax as she sipped cocktails at the house. As much as she admired everyone for getting away from the town, it was her home. The home that housed generations of her family line, she could not imagine breaking the tradition. It was where she belonged and her responsibility. It would be her children's responsibility after her. "Children" Bonnie thought to herself. The thought hurt her deep making her down her drink quickly and grab another one.
Caroline had floated around the world seeing it for the first time. Elena had given birth in the state where dreams were made, allowing Caroline to kill two birds with one stone. Nothing could slow down her bubbly personality even her constant break-ups with Tyler. She had figured out a way to combine her love of control and parties into one. She helped in a PR company, careful not to be too good at her job. When she felt the need to have more freedom, she knew how to "convince" her bosses to give her a vacation. It was nice to be away from her former friends. The drama seemed to be never-ending in her personal life, she couldn't bare to deal with Elena's anymore. Stefan and Damon seemed as moody as ever so she already had plans to skip out a bit early.
Damon's comments began to grate on everyone's nerves that everyone had begun to leave one by one to Stefan's dismay. It was Elena's big day and Damon's drinking had increased ten-fold. The brothers knew what they needed to talk about so Stefan gave little grief to his brother.
After everyone disbursed to their hotels. Damon finally opened his mouth. "Is there something you would like to say to me?"
"It's nothing I can't handle myself. Klaus doesn't control my life anymore, not her's either." Stefan snapped.
Damon put down his drink down slowly. He looked at Stefan briefly before he slammed him into the wall. "If you do anything to hurt Elena, I will kill you myself"
Stefan threw Damon off of him and began to choke him on the floor. "Are you crazy? Why would I hurt Elena? You have no idea how I feel right now."
Klaus had showed up while Elena was in the hospital and cornered Stefan. One death and he would give his whole family freedom until the end of their lives. The thoughts weighed on his mind as he watched the celebration at his home. Only one person noticed the sour mood of the new father.
As he struggled against Stefan's grip he slowly began to speak. "No wonder Klaus told me too. It seems like your love is not as strong as before." Stefan shoved Damon to the ground and slumped against the wall to the floor. Both brothers glared at each other heavily breathing and listening to the three heartbeats above them.
The dark haired brother broke the silence first by scoffing and sitting up. "This shouldn't even be a debate. Just do it!" he whispered harshly.
"How can we even trust him? If I…" Stefan stated before
Damon's loud cough interrupted him. "I mean if we do this we can never take this back."
"Can you risk Elena's life when we finally have a free pass?" Damon sighed. "Yes, she is a good friend but we are talking about your wife and kids versus someone who would have killed us years ago."
Once again silence descended against the duo as they thought heavily.
"She can never know. She would never forgive me or any of us" Stefan emphasized
While Elena slept she had become another reason for another death. Bonnie Bennett would have to die for her to see another
morning.
Bonnie sat in her hotel room looking at the growing rain clouds and wondered if she could be happy like her friend. The persistent texting from her secret shame was making her feel like she knew the answer already no matter how she deluded herself. This was her life. Bonnie tried to smile by herself but hot tears fell from her eyes regardless of the effort. She clutched herself to keep herself still. She was Bonnie Bennett, she told herself.
A pang of sadness hit her heart as her mind thought of how she lied to herself. A family, it didn't seem to be in her future. Her parents didn't speak to her anymore. Fleeing the town as soon as the hybrid problem had gotten bad. Sometimes she wondered if her mother had compelled her father. The thing that bothered her the most was how her mother still felt no need to connect with her. "Second honeymoon" she scoffed to herself. "for over three years". Occasionally she would get the phone call from Jaime, telling her how her mother and father was doing. It wasn't fair but it's my fate she thought.
"I'm not suppose to be happy" she whispered out loud.
The cruelest turns and the biggest changes often come in pairs. When caught in it's wake one can only be on one end of the spectrum or the other. If you are lucky you can find the sunshine before the darkness comes over.